


a little something refreshing

by bisousniall



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Food, M/M, Multi, Recreational Drug Use, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 10:41:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3607137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisousniall/pseuds/bisousniall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There’s a lot of planning to do, of course. Niall wants go all the way to New York, it’s gonna take at least two weeks. Gotta decide on all the cities he wants to stop at too, what restaurants he wants to hit up."</p>
<p>or, Niall, Harry, Zayn, Liam, and Louis eat their way across America.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a little something refreshing

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh! I can't believe I actually completed a Big Bang! I never thought I'd ever be able to write 20k! Thank you to everyone who encouraged me and told me they believed in me even when I was 99% sure I was going to fail (all of my twitter and tumblr buddies). It's been about five-ish months of me just whining about this fic to anyone who would listen. Which is why I need to give a special shoutout to [Lindsay](http://archiveofourown.org/users/icecreamsocialist), who has listened to me whine and complain the most, and she was also who I originally pitched this idea to. It actually started off as a gen fic idea, and I was worried it would be too self-indulgent and no one would want to read it, but she reassured me that people would. She also said the summary should be "Niall eats his way across America (and also finds a few other things to swallow along the way)." So thank you, Lindsay.
> 
> Also thank you to my betas, Kati, Caro, Irene and her friend Katie who not only helped with grammar but also assured me this actually a cohesive fic worth reading.
> 
> A quick shoutout to [Tasting Table](http://www.tastingtable.com/) which is where I got the info and ideas for all of the restaurants mentioned in this fic, as I have not been to all but one of these places.
> 
> Fanmix and cover art by Di is [HERE.](http://imlikenah.tumblr.com/post/114580602114/a-little-something-refreshing-bisousniall-for-1d) Thank you so much for the lovely mix and artwork!!
> 
> Disclaimer: This fic is not real (obvs) and I am not claiming any of it is. Please do not share this fic with any of the people mentioned in the fic, including the chefs because they are ACTUAL people, and that would be embarrassing as fuck. Also, get a snack before you read this. It will probably make you hungry.

“It’ll be fun. Gonna rent a car and everything.”

Niall stirs his cup of lemon ginger tea mindlessly as Liam speaks enthusiastically to him through the phone.

“Of course I was gonna invite Louis,” Niall assures him. “Can’t really separate the two of you, can we?”

“So how long are we going for, then?” Louis’ voice comes loudly and suddenly down the line.

Niall’s absentminded stirring comes to a halt. “Louis? Have you been on the line this whole time?”

“More or less,” Liam answers for him. “He heard the words ‘food’ and ‘road trip’ and couldn’t help himself. You know how he hates to be left out of food related things.”

“Wasn’t gonna leave him out, I only just thought of it in the shower half an hour ago,” Niall pauses to take a sip of his tea.  “Just kinda sick of writing about the L.A. food scene, you know?”

“Think it’s a great idea, Niall, and we’d love to accompany you.”

 There’s a lot of planning to do, of course. Niall wants go all the way to New York, it’s gonna take at least two weeks. Gotta decide on all the cities he wants to stop at too, what restaurants he wants to hit up.

“Ooh God, I bet you have a massive boner right now, all this planning nonsense. Bet you’ve got a spreadsheet already.” Louis teases.

Niall rolls his eyes, but shamefully closes the Google Doc he has already created titled ‘Foodie Roadtrip’, as if Louis can sense he has it open.

“Oh fuck off, Lou. You could do with a bit more planning in your life.”

“S’what I’ve got Liam for,” Louis drawls out, and Niall can picture the dumb expression he’s probably got on his face.

“To be fair, Louis, Niall is right. I think some focus and planning would be good for you.”

Louis huffs. Niall already knows Liam is in for it.

“And just whose side are you on, Liam Payne?”

Niall tunes out the ensuing bickering as he takes another sip of his tea and opens up a new tab to his website editor. He clicks the ‘end call’ button on the screen of his iPhone. He knows he’ll be getting irate texts from one or both of them when they realize he’s hung up on them, but Niall can’t be bothered. He has a post to write.

***

_May 12th, 2015 11:50_

_Hello Everyone! Niall here. I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’m still working on that review of République (here’s a preview: their côte de boeuf was to die for). I think there’s a reason I haven’t been writing so much lately. I’ve been feeling as though I’ve been stuck in a rut. Waking up to the same sights every day, eating at the same places. I never thought when I moved here six years ago that I’d ever get bored of Los Angeles. And to be fair, I don’t think I’m fully bored yet, maybe I just need a change of scenery in order to rekindle my love for L.A. What’s that saying, absence makes the heart grow stronger? Maybe my heart needs time to grow fond again._

_In short: I am planning a trans-America foodie road trip with my two good friends Louis and Liam (you may know them from their blog: Lads, Live, Love). I’ll hopefully be writing entries more regularly as I plan out the details of this epic trip. In fact, why not start planning now?_

_What city would you consider an essential stop for a trans-America food road trip? Looking forward to your ideas!_

_Nialler_

_xx_

***

Niall dodges around tourists as he walks determinedly up Sunset, Raybans on and sleeves of his white and black raglan pushed up to his elbows. It’s 3 pm and he has just managed to drag himself out of bed, despite a rather massive headache he’s sporting from a long night at _Tiki-Ti_ the night before. Somehow he had managed to convince himself that the only way he’s going to cure himself of this raging hangover is tacos. So he slips on his Vans, checks twitter, and begins his nearly 30 minute walk to where _Ricky’s Fish Taco_ food truck is parked for the day.

Just as he is turning off Sunset and onto N Virgil Ave, his phone begins ringing. Louis, of course.

“Hey Lou, what’s goin’ on?”

“Remember the friend I mentioned last night?” Louis’ voice comes loudly down the line. Niall flinches and pulls the phone away from his ear a bit. Louis had drank almost as much as Niall the night before. Honestly, it’s really unfair how  chipper he sounds.

“Uhhh maybe? Z- something? With the camera.”

“Zayn, yeah. He’s a photographer. He did the photos for mine and Liam’s last book. Good lad.”

Liam and Louis had become pioneers of lifestyle blogging for young, gay couples (even though Niall figures most of their audience is middle aged women who still think being gay is edgy) and they rose to popularity so quickly, they’ve already had two books published in the last few years. The power of the internet these days.

“Alright Lou,” Niall says, massaging his temple with his other hand. Talking to Louis exhausts Niall on a regular day, but being hungover, he doesn’t have his usual patience. “What about your friend Zayn?”

“Well it’s kind of a funny story, see, I was telling him about the food road trip thing this morning, and Zayn fancies himself a fan of food. He’s been saying how he’s been meaning to get out of town. Take in new scenery and whatsit. So I kind of maybe...invited him along. I know I say this a lot but trust me, I swear you two will get along.”

Niall can already see the truck up the street, and smell the tacos. It is very distracting. “Alright mate, that’s cool. I get along with everyone, anyways.”

Louis laughs “True. So you’re not mad?”

“Nah, he can come along if he wants. He can share driving, right?”

“Yeah mate, he’s good for it.”

“No harm then, yeah? Love some company other than you and Payno, to be fair.”

“Oi, you bastard!”

Niall cackles. “Listen, I’m about to get in line for tacos. We’ll chat later. Love ya, bye bye.” Niall hangs up before Louis can get any protesting in. He has more important things to worry about, like how many fish tacos to order. Or does he want the shrimp?

***

“So I’ve been thinking.”

“That’s always scary,” Niall quips, then dodges a small chunk of fiore sardo that Liam chucks at his head. “Hey, watch that. This cheese is expensive.” He pops a square of Kinsman Ridge in his mouth, letting the buttery flavour melt across his tongue.

It’s a beautiful day in Grand Park. The sun is shining, and there’s not a single cloud in the sky, just a light breeze, enough to make sure you don’t suffocate from the heat. Niall and Liam make a point to get together for lunch at least once a week, usually when Louis is off visiting some of his other friends. This week Liam had suggested they hit up Grand Central Market. It’s a bit out of the way for Niall, but he hasn’t been there for ages, so he agrees. They meet up there at noon, and leave half an hour later with a couple sandwiches, about five different kinds of cheese, some crackers, and bottled craft lemonade.

“Anyways, I’ve been thinking that I have this mate who would love to go on this road trip with us. Name’s Harry, he's like proper into the foodie thing. Think he reads your blog and everything."

"Oh, a fan then?" Niall perks up a bit at that. He has a big following as far as foodie bloggers go, but being able to meet someone in real life who follows his blog is still a bit of a novelty for Niall.

"Not specifically, really. We met at that wine and cheese fundraiser Louis and I hosted a year back. Think you missed it because you were visiting back home. His parents are, like, proper rich."

"You and Louis are so alike, y'know? He already invited Zayn."

"Wait, really? He never told me that," Liam pouts.

Niall shrugs. "Just happened yesterday afternoon."

"Hmm. So is that a no then?"

"No, that's a 'can he drive?' and also 'don't invite any more people'."

"Yeah, he can drive. Thanks, Nialler, I think you two will really get on."

“Yeah, but,” Niall pauses to take a bite of Beltane Farm goat cheese on a cracker. “Who don’t I get along with?”

 ***

_May  18th, 2015 20:14_

_Hello everyone! I took your suggestions into consideration and after much frustrated planning on Google Maps, I finally mapped the route for my foodie road trip!_

_The trip starts two weeks from now. We drive to San Francisco, then a quick stop in Salt Lake City, onto Denver, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Charleston, Nashville, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C. and finally ending in New York City._

_Since my last post about the trip I’ve also been informed that we will be joined by two other people called Zayn and Harry, who are friends of my friends Louis and Liam. Never met them before in my life, but apparently they might read my blog, so hello lads! Hopefully it all goes well, but I feel like it’s going to be an interesting trip._

_The only question left is, where should we eat in these cities? Leave your recs in the comments!_

_Nialler_

_xx_

***

Niall gets to _Covell’s_ fifteen minutes early. He knows Louis and Liam will be late (all Louis’ fault, of course) but he has no idea what to expect from Harry and Zayn. He gets a cozy table near the back and quickly orders a glass of Gewürtztraminer and some cheese and charcuterie plates for sharing.

Fifteen minutes goes by and Niall is still sitting by himself, poking at his iPhone, double checking last-minute reservations he made for their trip. Judging from the text he got five minutes earlier from Louis saying “ _on our way!!!_ ” he might be waiting a little bit longer.

Niall glances around the place, wishing he knew what Harry looked like. He has already creeped on Zayn’s professional Facebook page, but according to Liam, Harry doesn’t have a Facebook page. He does have an Instagram account (and he is following Niall’s account, which is interesting considering Liam insisted he wasn’t an actual fan) but there isn’t a single picture of Harry on it.

Niall flushes slightly when he sees that there’s a guy sitting alone at the bar who is already looking at him. The guy is wearing a garish yellow floral shirt, unbuttoned nearly to his stomach and tight black jeans with holes around the knees. It’s a bit of an odd look, but he supposes the lad makes it work. Niall gives a polite smile and then focuses his attention back on his phone.

A few moments pass before Niall glances up again, sensing someone standing by his table. Of course, it’s the guy from the bar. Up close he’s even more attractive than Niall originally thought.

“Hey, can I sit for a bit?”

Niall pauses briefly. “Well, I’m expecting friends, but I suppose you can sit until they show up.”

“Ah,” the guy says as he pulls out the chair across from Niall and seats himself. “I knew it. I looked over here and thought ‘no way is that fit bloke here by himself’. And I was right.”

Niall laughs, stupidly charmed by this strange man. Plus, Niall notes his English accent, it is always nice to meet a foreigner like himself. “So when did you move to L.A.?”

The man shrugs. “Been coming here on and off since I was quite young, it’s always been like a second home. What about yourself?”

“Been about six years, I think? I get back to Ireland when I can, but I guess L.A. is like a second home to me now, as well.”

Niall glances back over to the door and sees Louis and Liam, chattering to each other as they enter the bar.

“Hey, um. My friends are here, but it’s been nice meeting you-” Niall starts, but realizes he doesn’t know the guy’s name, even.

“It’s Harry.”

“Harry!” Liam says as he approaches the table. “I see you already met our Niall.”

Niall looks frantically between Liam and the guy across from him at the table a couple times.

“Harry? You’re the Harry?”

“One and only. And you’re Niall.” Harry holds his hand out to shake Niall’s, which Niall accepts hesitantly, his head still reeling from the revelation. “You’re even better looking in person.”

Liam groans as he sits next to Harry at the table.  “Stop it, cheeky.”

“You’re incorrigible, really Harry.” Louis adds, and seats himself next to Niall at the table. “Have we got a seat for Zayn?”

“I’ll steal a chair,” Harry says and gets up from the table.

“I thought Zayn was supposed to be coming with you lot.” Niall says. He can see the server heading towards the table with their cheese and charcuterie plates.

“He was,” Louis begins. “But I rang him and he said he was in the area and that he’d be able to get here by himself. But then I texted him just before we left, and he said he would be late. Later than us, even. Classic Zayn, really.”

Harry came back with a chair a couple seconds later as the server was delivering the plates and taking drink orders from Louis and Liam.

“Wasn’t Zayn supposed to be coming with you two?” Harry asks once he’s seated back at the table.

“Nah, he’s gonna be late,” Liam answers.

Harry grins. “Typical Zayn.”

“Wait, you know Zayn? I’m the odd man out on my own trip!”

“Don’t feel bad, Niall, we’re all quite friendly,” Harry says with a wink.

“Dunno if I’d use that word to describe Zayn,” Liam says.

“He’s quiet at first, but once he opens up he’s crazy fun. And a great friend.” Louis argues.

“And he’s really fit,” Harry adds.

Louis rolls his eyes. “Thank you for cheapening that moment, Harold.”

Harry shrugs, “It’s true.”

“I’ve seen photos.” Niall says.

“Pictures don’t even do him justice,” Harry says.

“Oh, he’s here.” Louis is looking up past Niall’s shoulder and waving. Niall is almost scared to look, because his brain can’t fathom someone who is more attractive than the guy in the photos he saw on Facebook. He’s forced to face reality, however, when Zayn reaches the table and sits down in the chair Harry had placed diagonal to Niall. Somehow Harry was right, the pictures didn’t really do Zayn justice. Not for the cut of his cheekbones, the pout of his lips, or the shine of his eyes, visible even in the dim bar.

“You’re Niall?” Zayn asks, eyeing up Niall directly.

“Yeah, hi. You’re Zayn.”

“I am. I read some of your blog. You’re a good writer; I’d love to take your picture sometime.”

“Oh my god,” Harry interrupts. “You still use that line?”

Zayn intense gaze shifts from Niall to Harry. “Why change what works? And besides, it’s not always a line. I really do wanna take his picture.” Zayn looks back over to Niall. “You’ve got a great profile, Niall.”

Niall feels his face getting warmer.

“Well, we’ll be on the road together for more than two weeks. I reckon there will be plenty of time for picture taking.” Liam says.

Niall clears his throat. “Yes, that’s why we’re here. I s’pose we should get on with it.”

***

_May 30th, 2015 11:17_

_Only two days until the road trip! I’m mostly packed, just a few last minute things left to do. Harry is dealing with the car rental, thank God, and he’ll be picking me up at the unholy hour of 6 am. It’s only a five and a half hour drive to San Francisco, and we’ll be there in time for lunch at Out The Door, the best in Vietnamese, so I’ve been told. Then dinner at Tosca, April Bloomfield’s Italian café. What a treat. I can’t wait to get going!_

_Nialler_

_xx_

***

Harry picks Niall up first on Monday morning in a black Escalade only a couple minutes past 6 am Niall had barely been able to sleep, so he had been up and ready to go since 5. They pick up Louis and Liam next and have to wait five minutes as Louis runs around their apartment grabbing last minute items. Then they go to Zayn’s where they wait more than ten minutes for him to finally emerge after many rude texts from Louis, with a bag about half the size of the one Niall has brought.

It’s just before 7 am when they finally get on the 101 heading to San Francisco. Niall is asleep in the front seat before they even reach Santa Clarita.

Niall doesn’t wake up until Modesto. Zayn, Liam and Louis are asleep in the backseat, and Harry is playing Kacey Musgraves quietly from his iPod hooked up to the stereo system.

“Morning, sleeping beauty.”

Niall clears his throat. “Morning,” he manages to croak out. “Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep on ya. I’m a bad front seat mate.”

“It’s alright. I’m not tired, and I like driving.”

“How much longer until San Fran?”

“Maybe two hours to our hotel, according to my phone.”

 

The sun is hot on Niall’s neck as he walks down Bush Street towards _Out The Door_ , Zayn on his left, Harry in front, and Louis with Liam pulling up the rear, chattering on to each other. Niall feels a bit hazy still from his three hour nap on the car ride, but he’s definitely starving and more than ready for an amazing lunch.

The outside of the restaurant is all glass and Zayn snaps a quick photo of the other four posed in front, Niall between Harry and Liam. Niall wishes for a second that he had tried doing his hair up that morning instead of letting it dry flat to his forehead after his shower. The inside of the restaurant has a somewhat minimal and industrial style, with heavy wooden tables and steel stools.

“I’ve never had Vietnamese before, really,” Zayn admits once they’re all seated at their table, menus out in front of them. “Is this like a sharing dishes type situation?”

“Can be,  if we want to try a few different things. Why don’t we all pick an item we like, and share an appetizer,” Niall suggests.

“Can we get the brussel sprouts?”

Louis groans. “ _Seriously_ , Harry?”

“What? I like a good veg.”

“It’s a food road trip. No watching your diet allowed.” Louis proclaims with the type of finality only he can get away with.

“I’m getting the grilled 5-spice chicken, I think,” Zayn says.

“Good lad.”

“Think I’ll go for the rice noodle stir fry,” Liam says.

Harry rolls his eyes but finally acquiesces to Louis’ demands. “Alright, then I’ll get the tofu and shiitake mushroom rice dish. What are you getting, food expert?” He nudges Niall with his elbow.

“The grilled pork sounds great. And maybe we can get the daikon rice cakes to start?”

***

They leave the restaurant just over an hour later, and even though he feels stuffed, he is on a food road trip, and he feels like this is the definition of a “go big or go home” situation.

“So, there’s a patisserie a couple blocks from here we could maybe check out,” Niall says, already pulling out his phone and opening up Google Maps.

Harry looks confused for a couple seconds before he says, “Niall, we just ate.”

“There's always room for dessert, though,” Zayn says.

Niall is charmed. He claps a friendly hand on Zayn’s shoulder. “See, Zayn gets it! Let's go get dessert.”

It’s only about a ten minute walk to b. patisserie, down Bush Street, up Divisadero Street, and down California Street. By the time they get there, Niall is definitely ready for a croissant of some sort. He ends up leaving with a savoury gougère feuilletée, Zayn with a fruit tart, Liam and Louis a hazelnut caramel millefeuille, and even Harry decides to get a chocolate chip cookie.

During a lengthy discussion on their walk back to the car, Harry manages to convince everyone that they can’t leave San Francisco without seeing the Golden Gate Bridge.

Liam ends up driving to West Bluff Park where they can eat their pastries and get a nice view of the bridge and the ocean. Niall feels undeniably touristy when Zayn pulls out his tripod and sets up the timer on his camera so the five of them can line up for a photo with a brilliant view of the bridge behind them. Niall snaps a photo of the bridge with his iPhone and quickly uploads it to Instagram.

“Hey Zayn, can you take a photo of Niall and I?”

Niall lets Harry pull him in until they’re practically chest-to-chest for the picture, Harry’s hand pressed to the small of Niall’s back.

“You look like a proper couple,” Zayn says as he snaps a few pics. “Must admit I’m a bit jealous.”

“No need to be jealous, Zayn,” Harry grins down at Niall. Their faces are weirdly close, and they still haven’t separated even though Zayn has stopped taking photos. “I have a good feeling there’s enough Niall to go around.” Harry grins.

“Hey, what the fuck does that mean?”

***

Niall is practically giddy as he leads the other four up Columbus Ave towards _Tosca Cafe_ , dodging other pedestrians on the busy street.

“He kind of has a thing for April Bloomfield,” Liam explains to Zayn and Harry. “She owns _Tosca_.”

“A culinary boner,” Louis provides.

“That’s...weirdly accurate.” Liam agrees.

“It’s not a boner,” Niall calls back, causing several people to give him strange glances as he pushes past them. “I just appreciate her dedication, y’know. To the craft and all.”

“It’s a boner.” Louis concludes.

The inside of _Tosca Cafe_ is warm and inviting, with low lighting and dark red vinyl seating. Also busy. Niall is glad he booked a table a week in advance when they are seated quickly in a nice corner booth. Niall insists they all order a cocktail off the menu (“they’re, like, famous for cocktails,” he explains). He goes for the _Polo Cup_ , not knowing much about cocktails but is drawn in by the elderflower and mint. The table erupts into laughter when Louis announces he is getting the _Suffering Bastard_.

“Niall, should we share the cured meat antipasti?” Zayn suggests.

“Well, I’m definitely not one to turn down salty meat.”

Louis chokes a bit. “Oh believe me, Niall, we know.”

Niall is still cackling when their waitress gets back, a beautiful blonde woman with a high ponytail and crimson lipstick who keeps eyeing up Harry, which Harry has definitely noticed. She drops off their drinks, and then they all put in their orders. Niall goes for the linguini with mussels and pancetta, Zayn the skirt steak with roasted mushrooms, Harry the grilled polenta, Liam the lumaconi, and Louis gets the black cod with caponata, tapenade and crispy carrots.

“Black cod?” Niall questions

“I’ve been known to enjoy a fish now and again.” Louis takes a sip of his _Suffering Bastard_.

“I’ve never known you to enjoy a fish. Liam, does he ever enjoy a fish?”

“Rarely.”

“Am I missing something, why is this a big deal?” Harry asks.

“I’d like to be filled in too, I’m just as confused. Niall, what are you on about?” Louis says.

Niall feels like he’s going to need about nine more cocktails to make it through this dinner. “I just don’t want Louis ordering something he knows he’s gonna hate and then him having a negative opinion on _Tosca_ for no reason,” he admits quietly.

The table immediately bursts into noise and laughter from the four others.

“Oh my god,” Louis cackles.

“You really do have a boner for her, huh?” Zayn asks, clapping a hand on Niall’s shoulder.

Niall takes a long drink of his _Polo Cup_.

***

They stumble out of the restaurant a couple hours later, having had far too much to eat and at least a couple cocktails each. Harry tosses the receipt he had been clutching with the waitresses’ phone number on it into a rubbish bin on the street.

“Not gonna call her? She was like, proper into you, mate.” Liam says.

“Nah, she’s not off until two, and I’m a bit tired tonight. Besides, I got my eyes on someone else.” Harry winks at Niall conspicuously.

Niall clears his throat. “Right, lads. Think I’m gonna head back to the hotel, maybe have one last drink in the bar. We’ve got a long day tomorrow, thirteen hours of driving.”

“Should probably get some sleep then, yeah?”

***

_June 1st, 2015 20:22_

_Hi everyone! Niall here. The food road trip has officially started!!!! I’m in the beautiful San Francisco right now and I’ve already tried some wonderful Vietnamese at Out The Door, and some unreal Italian cuisine at April Bloomfield’s Tosca. Two different styles of cooking from different parts of the world, yet both wonderfully demonstrating the wealth of cooking talent in San Francisco. Molto bene!_

_At Out The Door, the five of us shared a few items off the menu, but my favourite had to be the grilled five spice chicken, (shout out to Zayn for deciding to order that one) it was perfectly crisp on the outside and practically melt in your mouth tender on the inside. Not to mention the perfect amount of heat from the spice. At Tosca we shared the cured meat platter, and then I had the linguine with mussels and pancetta, which was incredible. Can you ever really go wrong with pancetta and mussels? For dessert I had the tiramisu (I can never resist it!) and one of the house cappuccinos, complete with armagnac, bourbon, and chocolate ganache._

_It’s pretty early to be going to bed, but we’ve got a thirteen hour drive to Salt Lake City to get through tomorrow, so I think I better hit the sack._

_Nialler_

_xx_

***

“Salt Lake City doesn’t have much of a food scene, does it?” Liam asks, after they’ve been on the road about six hours, having left their hotel in San Francisco at about five in the morning.

“Not really, no.” Niall answers. He’s been dozing on and off on Zayn’s shoulder, and Louis has been doing the same to him. Liam is driving, which means they’ve been listening to a stupidly large amount of Justin Timberlake, and Harry is in the passenger seat.

“Just a stopover, really. Tomorrow morning we leave for Denver, which is a nine hour drive. Then we spend a whole day in Denver, which is definitely a foodie town.”

“Jesus Christ, thirteen- and nine-hour drives?” Louis moans. “Why did I sign up for this?”

“Because you love me, and you love Liam. And you love food,” Niall reminds him.

“All good points," Louis acquiesces.

"So what are we gonna do there tonight?" Zayn mumbles. Niall starts a bit, considering he thought Zayn was asleep.

"Walk around a bit, I guess. Find some place to have dinner. There must be something good in Salt Lake City."

 

There might be something good in Salt Lake City, but they never get the chance to find out. By the time they arrive and get checked in to their rooms it’s after eight pm. and no one really feels like going out anywhere. Niall and Liam end up walking up the road to the corner store to pick up a couple six-packs, while the other three stay behind and order pizza from a local place that had menus in the lobby. They all move to Harry’s room because he paid extra for a big-ass bed and couch. Niall ends up shoved between Harry and Zayn on the bed while Liam and Louis tangle up on the couch together.

The pizza ends up being amazing, and the Uinta local brewery SUM’R ale they picked up at the liquor store is cold and refreshing.

“Well, I’d count this as a successful second night, boys. Cheers?” Niall holds up his beer.

“Oi oi!” Louis holds his up in reply.

At some point between the pizza being finished off, Niall’s third beer, and the TV being turned on, Niall falls asleep. When he’s shaken awake, everyone is getting up to go back to their respective rooms.

“Niall, you gonna stay here? Or go back to yours?” Harry asks softly.

“Mmmm,” Niall hums in response, not sure if he feels like getting up at all, but wondering if it’s way too soon to share a bed with someone he doesn’t know too well. “I’ll get up. Should go brush my teeth, anyways.”

***

Niall wakes up at 6 the next morning sleepy and craving coffee. After a quick shower and about fifteen minutes spent carefully re-packing his suitcase, Niall heads up the street from the hotel to Starbucks for a latte. When he heads back he runs into Harry, who is milling around by the car,  checking something on his phone.

“Hey, you almost ready to head out?” Harry says once he notices Niall approaching.

“Just gotta grab my bag from the room. Do you want me to drive today? I haven’t done any driving yet.”

“Sure, mate. It’s up to you.”

Niall runs into Liam and Louis in the hallway of the hotel, tells them that Harry is already waiting by the car.

“Think we’re just waiting on Zayn, now.” Liam says.

Zayn will always, always be the last one out. Niall learns this quickly.

***

Somehow, even though he was the last one at the car, Zayn ends up getting the passenger seat. Niall reckons it has something to do with his eyelashes. It’s pretty hard to say no to those. He also blames Zayn’s eyelashes for somehow tricking him into relinquishing all music control decisions over to him.

That’s how they end up listening to Drake for nine hours all the way Denver.

 

 

“Alright, now take this next exit. Exit 209A, Niall, this one!” Liam shouts from the backseat. “Now merge, merge onto 6th Ave.”

“Liam, I fucking got it. Stop yellin’ in my ear.” Niall tries to say civilly, even though he’s feeling quite annoyed at Liam’s attempt at backseat driving.

“Do you know where to turn, then?”

“Left onto Santa Fe Drive, I got it Payno. You can take a breath.”

_El Taco de Mexico_ is a Denver institution, or so Niall has been told by several commenters on his blog. He pulls up into the busy parking lot in front of the bright yellow building with turquoise trim.

“This is it?” Louis asks, clearly unimpressed.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Louis.”

Zayn already has his camera out as everyone exits the car, taking photos of the restaurant, a few candids of everyone finally getting to stretch their legs, and a few posed photos. Niall feels a bit silly, and obviously touristy as he poses in-between Harry and Louis, but Zayn is insistent with his camera.

 

Niall has discovered heaven, he figures. It’s in Denver, Colorado in the form of a chile relleno burrito smothered in green chile sauce and a lime Jarrito to wash it down.

“This is...incredible.” Zayn says, awestruck. They all ordered the same, except Liam who decided to go for the rice and bean and cheese burrito smothered in green chile sauce.

“Best meal ever.” Niall sighs.

“Better than _Tosca_?” Louis asks with a smirk, but the effect is essentially ruined by the smear of green chile sauce on his cheek.

“You can’t expect me to compare the two, they’re two completely different styles and types of cuisine. I’ve got to admit though, it’s hard to beat a burrito,” Niall says with a grin.

***

That night Niall ends up in the hotel bar with Harry. Liam, Louis and Zayn head off to their rooms saying they’re too tired from the day’s drive. Niall is pretty exhausted as well, but Harry isn’t ready to call it a day and seems to be aching for some company. Niall decides to oblige him.

“Well,” Harry starts, once they’re seated at the bar, each with a beer in hand. “You said you moved to L.A. six years ago. Any particular reason?”

Niall and Harry sit at the bar, and they talk, and they drink. And they laugh. A lot. They talk about L.A., their childhoods, food and music (somewhere in-between beer four and five, Niall goes on a tangent about the Eagles for a solid five minutes, maybe more) and the more they talk, the closer they get, the more they start invading each other’s space. It starts with their knees bumping after beer one, and ends with Harry’s hand on Niall’s thigh somewhere after beer four, but definitely before beer six, which is when they finally decide to call it quits.

They leave the bar, arms linked, just before two in the morning. Niall puts on a posh British accent, saying “Right-o, time for bed old chap!” as they walk through the lobby together, which has Harry in stitches.

“Let me walk you to your room,” Harry says when they’re in the elevator, both leaning against the side because they can’t really hold themselves up at this point.

“We’re in the same hallway, Harry.” The elevator door opens and Niall stumbles out, followed closely by Harry. “Not like this was a date, you know.”

“I can still get my kiss, though.”

Niall stops in front of his door, turns around to face Harry.

“Can you?”

Harry doesn’t move, just stares at Niall intensely for a few seconds, like Niall is a tasty meal he wants to eat.

“G’wan then, if you’re going.” Niall prods.

Niall braces himself on the door as Harry leans forward and grabs for his face. Even with the grip on Niall’s face their lips slightly miss, so Harry pulls back a bit and realigns until their lips slot together as they’re meant to. It’s not exactly an ideal first kiss, they’re both too drunk and sleepy to go about it with any finesse, but it’s still Harry. Harry is frustratingly attractive and flirty and up until now, Niall had been under the impression he didn’t intend to do anything about it. That maybe Harry just liked flirting for the sake of it. But then Harry’s hand, the one not holding Niall’s face, slides up Niall’s shirt until Harry is touching bare skin at Niall’s hip, then back down over the waist of Niall’s jeans, over his ass, until he’s cupping Niall right where his thigh meets his ass. Niall can see now that Harry definitely intended to do something about it.

“Harry, Harry,” Niall whispers, once their lips have parted briefly.  “Why don’t we take this somewhere more… private?” Niall hopes Harry doesn’t hear the nervous-excited quiver in his voice.

Harry stifles a yawn.

“Although, we’re both super tired. Maybe we should pick this up another time?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Another time then.” Harry leans in once more for a quick peck. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Harry. See you tomorrow.”

Niall slips into his room after watching Harry walk up the hallway to his own room. He slips out of his clothes and leaves them spread out on the floor where he tosses them, promising himself he’ll pick them up before they leave the next morning.

***

Niall is woken up by his phone vibrating loudly on the bedside table. His mouth feels like a desert and he’s _starving_. He blindly reaches for his phone and answers it without checking the caller ID.

“Hello?” He rasps.

“Niall!” Louis nearly shrieks (at least it feels like he does, to Niall) into the phone. “Get up! We’re getting breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” Niall perks up a bit at that, and promptly forgets to go in on Louis for yelling into the phone at him. “What kind of breakfast?”

“The lady at the front desk highly recommended this bagel place. It’s about a ten minute drive.”

“I’ll be ready in fifteen!”

He gathers his clothes off the floor and folds them quickly and shoves them in his suitcase and grabs a different outfit. He debates whether he should take a quick shower but decides against it; instead he opts for a refresh of deodorant and a light mist of cologne. He grabs his wallet and pops on a snapback, figures his hair is a lost cause.

 

The others, even Zayn, are waiting in lobby when Niall gets down there. He spares a quick glance at Harry who winks and smirks at him. Niall is vaguely annoyed because he looks like he was up early enough for a shower. They file out to the car, and Louis gets in the front seat because he claims he’s the only one who knows how to get there.

“The woman at the desk gave me directions,” he explains.

***

“We have to get the dosas!” Zayn exclaims, and it’s the most excited Niall has heard him on this trip so far. He seems to catch himself quickly, though, ducks his head with a grin before explaining. “My mum used to make those all the time when I was a kid, back in Bradford.”

Niall is charmed by Zayn’s enthusiasm, as he often is when people get excited about food.

They’re at _Vesta Grill_ just in time for happy hour, which Niall is quite pleased about. He’s already sipping at a GingerHop, an interesting cocktail of IPA with liqueur, grapefruit bitters and agave. Louis offered to drive for the day, thank God, because they ended up hitting a local brewery in the afternoon for a tour and Niall couldn’t possibly turn down the beer samples offered.

“Think I’m gonna get the garlic grilled scallops,” Niall says.

“Gonna go for the chicken, myself, I think,” Liam says.

“I’m getting the fish, it’s good for you. Nice, lean meat. Comes with good veg.” Harry adds.

Louis rolls his eyes. “I’m getting the beef tenderloin because fuck being healthy.”

***

_June 5th, 2015 21:35_

_Hi everyone, Niall here. We just checked into the hotel in Austin, Texas, our fourth stop on the foodie road trip. We’ve had a long drive today, just over thirteen hours. I’m exhausted and ready to hop into bed right away but I thought I’d update everyone on what we’ve been up to. We were in Salt Lake City  three nights ago, which does not have a huge food scene, but we still enjoyed some pizza from Rusted Sun Pizzeria and some local microbrew from Uinta. It was a great way to end a day after a thirteen hour drive. The next morning we left Salt Lake City for Denver, which was only a nine hour drive (seemed short after all the thirteen hour days we’ve been doing!)_

_When we got into Denver we headed right for El Taco de Mexico which came highly recommended from several of you, and I have to say a huge THANK YOU to those people. Especially the ones who insisted we try a burrito with the green chile sauce. It was life changing. And that might be understating it._

_The next morning we hit up Rosenberg’s for breakfast, and anyone who keeps up with my blog knows about my enthusiasm for bagels, and this one definitely hit the spot, especially after a few too many drinks the night before. I had the Jersey Boy speciality sandwich, which was a fried egg, ham, American cheese, and ketchup on a bagel. It doesn’t get much better than that._

_Since the Mile High City is making a name for itself as a microbrew capital, we decided to sign up for a Denver Microbrew Tour. It was a great time, so interesting and, bonus, we got to drink a lot of delicious beer! I’d highly recommend it to anyone thinking of visiting Denver. After all that drinking and walking, we finally decided to sit down for dinner at the Vesta Dipping Grill. Kind of an interesting idea for a restaurant. Each entree comes with three suggested dipping sauces, or you can choose your own from their list of twenty-six different sauces. I had the garlic grilled scallops with fingerling potatoes, a side salad and bacon aioli, which came with smoked habanero salsa, sweet onion bbq, and roasted corn. After a couple more cocktails (I had the Gingerhop and Queen Bee) I was ready to collapse on my bed. Much like I am right now. Time for me to call it a night. Can’t wait to find out what Austin has in store for us._

_Much love!_

_Nialler_

_xx_

 

“Brisket! Brisket! Brisket!” Liam and Louis chant from the back seat. Zayn ended up in the middle, somehow, and he has his eyes closed as if trying to sleep. Instead he’s mostly frowning at the racket he’s surrounded by. Niall is mainly trying to concentrate on driving and not reaching back and slapping his two friends. Even Harry looks vaguely annoyed, even though he’s been up since 7, gone for a run and sat in the sauna for a while. Bit annoying, really, because Niall barely had enough time to roll out of bed, get in the shower for ten minutes and shove everything back in his suitcase before he was being rushed out of his room by Louis.

“It is imperative you show up at _Franklin Barbecue_ by at least nine in the morning,” Niall had explained on the drive to Austin. Sometimes even lining up an hour before _Franklin Barbecue_ ’s 11 am opening time did not guarantee you a taste of their legendary brisket. Louis takes it very seriously. He insists he isn’t leaving Austin until they have a taste. So they’re out of the hotel by 8:30 and, after a quick stop for coffee, they line up two hours before the shop even opens.

“This is mad,” Niall says through a yawn. Zayn is barely even alive and is leaning heavily on Niall for support as he sips from his grande redeye, black with three sugars. Niall’s stomach had turned when Zayn explained that a redeye was coffee with shots of espresso added. Niall is fine with a standard latte, thanks.

Around ten the caffeine really starts to kick in and they get a bit rowdy. Louis is doing a terrible impression of Harry that has Niall in stitches. Even Harry can’t help but laugh. Zayn and Liam keep singing Miguel in terribly high falsetto, and at one point Louis jumps on Liam’s back in attempt to shut him up, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

At eleven, when _Franklin’s Barbecue_ is finally open, Niall is so hungry he ends up ordering half the menu. He gets a brisket sandwich, a side of potato salad, pinto beans, iced tea, and a 4-inch pecan pie for dessert. Harry watches in horror as Niall scarfs down every last bite of his order.

“Where are you putting all that food?” Harry asks. He’s only half done his turkey sandwich and only taken a couple bites of his coleslaw when Niall is already digging into his pecan pie.

“This is how Nialler gets when he's made to go for too long without food,” Louis explains.

“Gotta have my three square meals a day, otherwise I get a bit frantic. Brisket was good, though, wasn’t it?”

“Good doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Liam says. Zayn hums in agreement. He hasn’t said a word since he started eating, and seems to have reached a zen-like state because of his brisket sandwich and key lime pie.

“Best barbecue _ever_ ,” Louis confirms.

 

Sneaking around with Harry is exciting, but also tiring. Especially when he shows up at Niall’s door at eight in the morning when they weren’t planning on leaving for breakfast until ten. Niall wakes up to his hotel door being pounded on. He grumbles as he crawls to his feet and stumbles over to the door and opens it without checking the peephole.

“Harry, what the fuck?”

“Hey, just got back from my run and I was wondering if you were up and wanted to uh, hang.”

“I wasn’t up.”

“You are now, though!” Harry says, complete with finger gun motions.

“Alright, come in you idiot.”

They only make it about five minutes of chatting before Niall crawls on top of Harry and shuts him up with his mouth. There’s a bit of a power struggle, Harry doesn’t like to make things easy _ever_ and eventually Niall’s tiredness wins out. He lets Harry pin him to the bed and suck on his neck and grind his dick lazily down on Niall’s. Niall isn’t usually a huge fan of love bites, but Harry seems to really get off on mouthing at Niall’s neck. He’d bite and kiss and lick there until Niall was red and dark and bruised, if Niall would let him. Mouthy fucker. Up until this point Niall has stopped him, but he’s lethargically compliant and doesn’t feel like pushing him off. So he lets Harry work at the same spot on his neck until it is sore and sensitive to the touch.

Niall is just about to push Harry off when his phone vibrates loudly on the bedside table. He flings an arm out to grab it while he lightly pushes on Harry’s head with the other, encouraging him to detach.

“Louis and Liam are ready for breakfast, you gotta let me get ready.”

Harry just whines in response.

“Seriously, Harry, I need a shower.

***

"So what's this, then? Were you out pulling while we all slept last night, Casanova?" Louis asks as soon as Niall enters the lobby. Harry is already there too and Niall glances quickly his way to see if he'll own up to it. Instead Harry just shrugs and focuses back on his phone. Traitor.

"Don't know what you mean, mate."

"Don't pull that on me, I know a love bite when I see one, Niall Horan."

"Must have just been my collar rubbing on my neck yesterday," Niall says, even though he was wearing a sleeveless vest the day before. "I went to bed when the rest of you did, I swear."

Zayn enters the lobby then, so Louis gets momentarily distracted as they head to the car.

"Don't think I've forgotten about this, Horan."

Niall just rolls his eyes. He has no doubt Louis will find out, but it's fun to make him work for it.

 

They spend the day at the Space Center Houston (at Niall's insistence) then head out for dinner at _Pho Binh_.

"Why pho in Houston?" Liam asks from the passenger seat, next to Louis who is trying to navigate and drive at the same time, his phone open to Google Maps on the dashboard.

"This is apparently the closest you can get to an authentic Vietnamese pho in America. After the Vietnam War, a lot of Vietnamese refugees were sent to the Gulf Coast to work in the seafood industry," Niall explains. "I think it was a right there, Louis."

Why did they let Louis navigate?

After driving around for far too long, they finally arrive at _Pho Binh_ and all get seated with massive bowls of steaming soup in front of them.

“How have I lived so long without this in my life?” Zayn says between sips of the rich beef broth.

“That was a very Niall-sounding thing of you to say,” Louis points out.

“You’ll be talking about the umami next,” Liam says.

“What the heck is umami?” Harry asks.

“The fifth taste,” Louis begins to explain before Niall cuts in.

“You know there’s sour, sweet, bitter and salty, well umami is the fifth. It’s that savoury, meaty taste in mushrooms and beef that we didn’t really have a word for until we took the Japanese term.” Niall finishes.

“Hmm, the umami in this soup is really amazing.” Zayn says with a grin.

“Oh, fuck off,” Niall replies through the table’s obnoxious laughter.

***

The next day they head to _The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation_ , because Niall figures it must be a sin to leave Texas without getting in some Tex Mex. They order chips and queso to start, and then a giant, steaming platter of skirt steak fajitas that they wolf down in what is probably record time. With their stomachs practically bursting, they jump in the SUV. Harry gets in the driver’s seat, Liam as the passenger, and Zayn tucked in-between Louis and Niall in the back, and head out for the short drive to New Orleans.

  
****

It’s extremely muggy when they arrive in New Orleans. Niall feels sticky from sweat and heat, and the hotel A/C feels like a blessing. Unfortunately Louis and Liam have big plans of the five of them exploring the French Quarter together, so Niall forces himself to get up from where he’s starfished out on the bed. He changes from a t-shirt to a sleeveless vest and re-applies his deodorant. He’s still got about ten minutes to kill, but he likes checking out the pamphlets in hotel lobbies. Niall steps out of his room and directly into Zayn.

“Oof! Sorry, mate.” Niall immediately apologizes. “Hey, you’re early for once.”

Zayn laughs. “Yeah, I was just gonna um…” He pauses, then reaches into the pocket of his jean shorts, pulls out a fat joint and a lighter.

“Shit,” Niall whispers.

“Yeah, bro. You wanna like...do you light up?”

“Haven’t in a while, but I’d be down, yeah.”

“Sick.”

They sneak out one of the back exits of the hotel into the alley. Niall feels like he’s back in school, sneaking around just for a puff off a shared cig with his mates. He watches as Zayn lights the joint and takes the first puff, his lips pursing indecently as he blows out the smoke.

“Is this why you’re late all the time?” Niall asks when Zayn hands over the joint and the lighter.

Zayn grins and shakes his head. “Nah, man. This is my one and only joint for the whole trip. My guy got fucked over just before we left, had nothing to sell me. So I’ve been saving this one for a special occasion. I dig the vibes here already, so.”

Niall inhales deeply, holding the smoke in his lungs, relishing the slight burn in his lungs, then letting it go, with a slight cough. It’s good shit.

They pass the joint back and forth, leaning towards each other up against the building. Niall thinks back to the first time Louis described Zayn as _scary beautiful but the best friend ever_. At the time Niall scoffed, mock hurt and insisted he was the best friend ever. He gets it now, though. He understands how intimidating seeing Zayn can be, through the leather jackets and cigarettes and furrowed brow, it can be scary. But he’s sweet, really. He’s been nothing but soft-spoken and polite for the entire trip. It’s a defense mechanism, Niall figures. Like maybe Zayn uses the sharpness of his cheekbones to keep people scared and to find out who his real friends are.

Or maybe it’s the weed talking.

Niall wasn’t kidding when he said it had been awhile, and he can already feel it going to his head, softening his vision until it feels like his head is made of cotton.

“You’re fucked, aren’t you?” Zayn asks suddenly. They had mostly been smoking in silence so Niall jumps a bit at Zayn’s voice, and immediately breaks down into laughter.

“Shit. Fuck. The lads are gonna know for sure.”

“Speaking of,” Zayn says, checking his iPhone. “We were supposed to meet five minutes ago.” Zayn starts to crack up and Niall follows. By the time they make it to the lobby they’re still laughing, only Niall doesn’t even remember what was so funny.

 

Louis knows right away, of course.

“Where the fuck was my invite?” He asks, shoving at Zayn’s arm.

“I only had one joint! I was just gonna smoke it myself, but then I ran into Niall in the hallway-”

“Technically I ran into you,” Niall interrupts, causing both of them to burst into laughter again.

Louis just rolls his eyes and stomps away, says “Let’s go, lads.”

The French Quarter is unreal. It’s a bit overwhelming under the influence, so him and Zayn stick together for the whole walk. Zayn keeps an arm around Niall’s waist as they gawk at all of the sights. Niall and Zayn have to leave _Reverend Zombie’s House of Voodoo_ because Niall is too freaked out to stick around.

By the time they make it so _Sylvain_ for dinner, the high has mostly worn off and Niall is just _starving_. They share the champagne and fries (weirdly good combo) and the shiitake mushroom bruschetta. Niall and Zayn both get the “Chick-Syl-Vain” sandwich, which Niall practically inhales (and regrets later because he can’t really remember what it tastes like, but he’s sure it was amazing) Liam gets the burger, Louis the confit duck leg and grilled sausage, and Harry gets Gulf shrimp perloo. Niall and Zayn are the only ones still hungry after the entree, so they share a chocolate pot de creme for dessert.

After dinner they head over to _Southern Candymakers_ , at Louis’ insistence. It takes a lot for Niall to get sick of food, but he’s so full that he only lasts for a few minutes inside the shop before the sickly sweet smell gets to him and he has to go stand outside.

As they leave the shop, Niall rejoins the group, and Zayn situates himself next to Niall again, and nudges into his side.

“Hey, hey. Got you something.” Zayn holds out a box. “Pecan praline. For later, of course.”

"Zayn, what the hell, you didn't have to get me anything."

Zayn shrugs, looks a bit sheepish. "Yeah, I know, but I wanted to, alright."

“Thanks, that is so nice of you. I’m sure I’ll enjoy them when I don’t feel like my stomach is gonna burst open.”

***

_June 19th, 2015 11:16_

_Hello again! Sorry I haven’t updated in a while! Since I lasted wrote we’ve been to Austin and Houston. In Austin we hit up Franklin’s Barbecue, a must-have for anyone visiting Texas. I don’t think I’m being too dramatic when I say it was life-changing. We also went to Chi’lantro, a Korean-Mexican fusion food truck that just opened up a restaurant too. We tried their famous kimchi fries, and I had their spicy chicken tacos. Then we were off to Houston where we enjoyed pho at Pho Binh, and fajitas at Ninfas._

_Now we’re in New Orleans and having the most incredible time. Yesterday we walked around the French Quarter all afternoon before dinner. New Orleans is just amazing and unlike anywhere I've ever been before._

_Yesterday we had what I think was an incredible meal at Sylvain, I don't 100% remember how the food was because I may or may not have indulged in some illegal activities (shout out to Zayn! Love you bro!) But the rest of my group confirmed that the meal was delicious, and I'll have to take their word for it._

_We also hit up Southern Candymakers for some pecan pralines. Proper Southern and delicious! We're on our way to Crabby Jacks for a lunch of po boys and gumbo pretty soon, then we head out to Charleston! Can't wait!_

_Much Love!_

_Nialler_

_xx_

 

It’s just after three in the afternoon, and Niall is flirting with the idea of taking a nap. Liam and Louis have taken off because they have a friend in Charleston they want to meet up with, and Harry is off, probably in the hotel gym or pool, and Zayn muttered something about taking some photos before he wandered off too. It’s hot as fuck in South Carolina, so Niall is about to take off his shirt and flop down on his bed when there’s a knock on the door. He peeps through the hole and is pleasantly surprised when he sees Zayn on the other side, camera in tow.

“Zayn! What’s goin’ on?”

Zayn grins sheepishly, like he’s embarrassed to be standing outside Niall’s door.

“I was gonna like, go for a walk down King Street and take some photos, and everyone else seems busy so I thought I’d come see if you wanted to join me?”

“So I was a last resort, yeah?” Niall smiles widely, trying to take the edge off that slipped comment. He means it as a joke, honestly, sometimes he doesn’t think before he speaks. Maybe he’s not at a friendship level with Zayn that he can be making those kinds of jokes.

Niall is relieved when Zayn just grins back, says “Absolutely you were.”

“Great, lemme grab my wallet.”

****

There’s a _Moe’s Southwest Grill_ across the street from their hotel, and they stop in quickly so Niall can buy a can of “Vanilla at Peachtree” before they head on up King Street. They mostly walk and chat, and every once in a while Zayn makes Niall stop and pose in front of brick walls or palm trees or decorative street lamps. Niall feels silly, doesn’t really know how to hold himself in front of a camera unless he’s making a silly, exaggerated face, but Zayn insists he acts natural. Zayn doesn’t let him look at any of the photos, but assures Niall he looks good, just like he said he would the first time they met in L.A.

“What can I say, the camera loves me,” Niall cheeses, tossing imaginary long hair over his shoulder.

“Nah, I’m just that good, like. Can make anyone look good, even you.”

“Oof! Rude!” Niall exclaims. Secretly he’s pleased. He loves reaching that point in a friendship when you can start taking the piss, and not worry about the other person thinking you’re an arsehole or something.

They continue on all the way down King Street until they reach Battery Park and can see the Atlantic Ocean. They jaywalk across East Battery Street when the traffic clears, up onto Zero Water Street, which looks like a big wooden sidewalk that edges the ocean. Zayn takes a few more photos of Niall leaning on the rails in front of the water, and then Niall takes a selfie of the two of them for Instagram. For what feels like the millionth time, Niall is shocked by how surreally perfect Zayn always manages to look, even though they’re both sweating like crazy and Niall’s face is the same shade as a ripe tomato.

They pause for a bit to just lean on the railings and look out to the water. The air smells salty, and Niall can taste it when he licks his lips. Maybe the ocean air is getting to him already, but when he glances over at Zayn he has this wild idea of kissing him. Of pressing Zayn’s body up against the railing and pressing their salty-sweet lips together. Zayn always looks amazing, but right now, with the Atlantic breeze ruffling his hair, Zayn is magnetic. Niall can’t look away. He doesn’t even realize he’s staring until Zayn looks back at him, and their eyes meet. Zayn bites his bottom lip, which doesn’t really help with Niall’s wanting to kiss him situation. Zayn takes a quick glance around. There’s a family up one way, and a man and a woman the other way. Neither are particularly near them, or paying attention to them. Niall looks back at Zayn, who must be magic because he reads Niall’s mind. Zayn cups a hand around Niall’s cheek and leans in.

Kissing Zayn is unreal. His lips are ample and, just like Niall guessed, slightly salty from the ocean breeze. He feels like he must be getting beard burn from Zayn’s scruff, but Niall doesn’t care. He just pushes in closer, opens his mouth willingly with only a slightly nudge from Zayn. Niall shuffles around a bit, pulls Zayn into him until he’s leaning on the railing, Zayn’s legs on either side of him. Niall feels giddy with it. He hasn’t snogged in public like this for ages, and it’s a thrill to be doing it with someone as interesting and beautiful as Zayn. But then Zayn pulls back, suddenly, and Niall mouths at the air dopily for a couple seconds.

“Why’d you stop?”

“Well, we’re in public in South Carolina. And those parents over there did not look impressed with our display,” Zayn explains.

“Aw, fuck ‘em,” Niall tugs Zayn in closer by his hips.

“Well, you make a compelling argument,” Zayn is completely focused on Niall’s lips and it makes Niall feel a little squirmy. “But I’d rather not cause any shit on this trip. Should we head back?”

“Hmm, yeah I suppose.”

Niall goes to move away from the railing, but Zayn holds him back.

“One second.”

Zayn leans in for one more kiss, their tongues swiping briefly but heatedly and Niall’s knees feel wobbly like a newborn colt. Zayn pulls away and thumbs away some of the spit from Niall’s lip. Somehow that feels more intensely sensual than their kissing did.

“Back to the hotel?”

“Yeah,” Niall answers shakily.

***

"Okay, now Niall definitely wants to fuck Sean Brock," Louis says with a lazy grin, the one he has on when he knows he's being a shithead. Niall doesn't even rise to the bait. Unfortunately Zayn does.

"Who is Sean Brock?" He asks. Liam groans.

"He owns _Husk_ , the restaurant we're going to right now, Zayner," Louis explains.

"Is he hot or something?" Harry asks.

"He's okay," Niall finally gives in. "But once again Louis is confusing admiration for sexual attraction. Sean Brock is a pioneer of the heritage crop movement. He helped revive several strains of rice and other grains that almost died out, and he's helped put Southern hospitality on the haute cuisine map. And he's a really great chef. Why can't I admire someone who is good at their job?"

"You're turning a bit red there, mate," Harry points out.

"Yeah, almost like you have a crush on this guy," Zayn adds.

"Oh fuck off, all of you."

The outside of the restaurant is beautiful, like a classic, old, Southern white building with railings, and the inside has a warm and inviting bar area with shelves on shelves of bourbon, and an elegant decor. This was one of the places Niall had to triple check his reservation for.

"Cornbread!" Liam exclaims after spotting it on the menu. "We have to get cornbread."

So they do. They also share an order of Southern fried chicken skins. Niall gets the cornmeal dusted catfish, and sips a couple different kinds of bourbon throughout the meal. By the time they leave the restaurant Niall is stuffed and a little tipsy. He leans heavily on Zayn as he watches Harry throw out another receipt with a waitress' phone number on it.

"Another heart broken, Styles?" Liam asks.

"She was lovely, wasn't she? But we're leaving town tomorrow and all that. Never would have worked out." Harry explains with an easy shrug.

Everywhere they’ve gone so far there seems to be a beautiful waitress willing to gamble their job on the possibility of getting with Harry.

Niall doesn't get it.

Although in a way he does. He was _actually_ kissing Harry on a semi-regular basis, after all. He stifled a laugh into Zayn's shoulder.  

"You alright?" Zayn asks.

"Maybe a bit too much bourbon," Niall mumbles back into Zayn's shoulder.

"Alright. Think we should get this one back to his hotel room," Zayn says to the group. Niall doesn't even feel too drunk, but it's nice to lean on Zayn as they walk back to the car.

 

It’s hard to find the time to make out with someone in private on a road trip with other people around. Especially when you’re trying to find time to make out with two different people without the other one finding out.

Niall feels a bit bad, to be honest. But it isn’t like he is getting into anything serious with either of them. It is just a bit of fun.  Besides, it’s hard to feel bad about anything when you are currently being pinned to the bed by a horny Zayn Malik.

At one point they are just sitting side-by-side on Zayn’s bed, chatting,  but one thing leads to another, as it does, and then they’re kissing. And then Zayn crawls on top and straddles Niall’s thighs, and then Niall can’t be arsed to support his torso anymore when he has way better things to be focusing on. So now Niall is on his back, Zayn on top of him, holding his wrists down to the bed and pressing their half hard dicks together as he slowly grinds down against him.

It is difficult, but so worth it sometimes. Niall hasn’t spent so much time kissing since he finished sixth year back in Ireland, probably. It felt amazing, to just kiss until your lips were sore and red, until you couldn’t tell what the other person tasted like because your spit had mingled so much. Until you were lazy with it, your tongues barely moving, just slowly teasing each other. They’re both so distracted they don’t even hear the door open.

“Hey babe, we’re about to - _oh, shit_.”

Niall breaks away from the kiss in a panic, almost knocking Zayn over.

“Harry? What the fuck?”

“Shit, I didn’t realize you were in here, Niall. We’re leaving for dinner soon though so. Maybe sort yourselves out.” Harry grins then winks before leaving the hotel room, letting the door shut loudly behind him.

“How the fuck did he get in here?”

“I always give him my extra key because I’m bad about losing shit. Should we get ready to go?” Zayn crawls off Niall carefully, then makes his way over to the bathroom.

“He didn’t seem upset at all,” Niall murmurs.

“Why would that upset him? He’s a grown man.”

Niall sighs and then pushes himself off the bed, straightens out his clothes and rearranges himself. He follows Zayn into the bathroom, where Zayn is fixing his hair in the mirror.

“I mean, this sounds so shitty to say out loud now, but I’ve been like, getting together with both of you.”

“Getting together?”

“Like, snogging and whatsit.”

Zayn starts laughing, which is not the reaction Niall is expecting at all. He turns from his reflection to face Niall and cup his cheeks.

“Babe, I know. It’s fine.” He leans in and kisses Niall gently. “Your hair is a mess, let me fix it.” He starts fluffing Niall’s hair with his fingers.

“Sorry, what do you mean ‘you know’? Like, you know?”

“I’m more surprised that you thought I wouldn’t know. Did you think we didn’t know?”

“Well…” Niall trails off. Zayn laughs again.

“You’re so cute,” Zayn says, which should feel patronizing, but instead Niall feels a bit silly, but also like he wants to keep kissing a lot more. But alas, they have a dinner to get to, so Niall settles for a quick peck, and then they’re out the hotel door.

***

Niall has been told by numerous people that the thing to get in Nashville is hot chicken, and the only place to get it is at the place that started it all: _Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack_. So they get there, get into the massive line and Louis has been moaning ever since.

“I’m starving,” Louis whines.

“Should have eaten more at lunch,” Liam says. “We’re almost there, anyways.”

“Well if we hadn’t waited so long for these two to get going we might have been eating already,” Louis gestured towards Niall and Zayn. “What were you guys doing, anyways?”

“Just chilling,” Zayn says calmly.

“Watching TV,” Niall adds, not even daring to make eye contact with Harry.

Louis makes a low humming noise like he doesn’t believe them, but he drops it anyways.

Ten minutes later they have their chicken, and are sweating it out trying to eat it.

“This is so fucking spicy,” Liam says, after taking a huge chug of his Coke.

“It’s good though,” Niall says. He feels like he’s holding it together pretty well considering all he can taste is fire.

Zayn just shrugs. “It’s not even that spicy.”

 

It’s about a seven hour drive to Chicago from Nashville, but they leave late so by the time they arrive in Chicago it’s already after 8. There’s a Chicago deep-dish place a short walk from the hotel, so they all go for a slice of pizza before going to sleep.

The next day is sunny and warm, but windy (Chicago is earning its name as the Windy City.)

They spend the day shopping on the Magnificent Mile. Zayn spends almost 45 minutes in Gucci before the rest of the group gets tired of it and practically drag him out of the building. Niall only ends up buying a Cubs snapback.

They spend a ridiculously long time taking group selfies in front of The Bean, at all different angles. Zayn gets his camera out and takes a few shots of them too.

It’s a great day, but Niall can’t help but focus on their upcoming dinner plans. They’re going to _Alinea_ , one of the few Michelin three star rated restaurants in Chicago, and was voted the sixth best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine. Niall had to book their reservations nearly a month ago, but it’ll be worth it.

Niall is vibrating with excitement when they arrive to the plain, dark grey building promptly at 5:45. He doesn’t really know what to expect. He’s spoken to a few people who have been, and all they’ve told him is that it’s an experience. They’re seated at a small table and served their first wine pairing immediately.

The meal ends up being eighteen courses, all small, all beautiful, and all delicious. Niall takes pictures of each one before he digs in because how could you not? They all look like pieces of beautiful art that he wants to remember long after he finishes eating them.

 

They leave nearly two hours later, not stuffed, but satisfied.

“That was…” Liam starts.

“It was interesting. Very interesting.” Zayn finishes.

“It was delicious, though.” Harry says.

“It was amazing!” Niall exclaims. “Molecular gastronomy at it’s finest, oh my god. I can’t even believe that meal we just ate, oh my god.”

“Alright lad, calm down,” Louis says, patting Niall’s back. “I think we need some drinks after a meal like that. I think I know the perfect place.”

***

Niall hasn’t been this drunk in a long time.

It’s all Louis fault, really. They ended up at this gay club called Roscoe’s, consuming far too much bright pink lemonade and bright blue Hawaiian alcohol from pitchers.

“They’re on special!” Louis had explained earlier, after the first order. Now they were on pitcher six or seven, maybe. Niall can’t even remember.

Niall feels recklessly drunk. Fearlessly drunk. So when Harry and Zayn stand up from the table at the same time, and Harry extends a hand out to Niall, he doesn’t even think twice. He spares a quick glance towards where Louis is practically crawling into Liam’s mouth, then he accepts the unspoken invitation.

Harry’s hand is warm in his, and he can feel Zayn pressed up against his back, with a hand on his hip. Harry leads them through the crowds to the dancefloor, to a small alcove along the edge thats empty. He turns Niall around until he’s pressed up to his back, Niall’s butt bumping up against his crotch. Zayn shuffles in too until his pelvis is up against Niall’s. Somehow Niall ends up forced to lead them all in a slow grind, not on beat with the loud music that is playing at all, but Niall doesn’t really care. Not when he’s got Harry’s dick pressed up against his arse that he’s grinding back on, his mouth on Niall’s neck, kissing and biting and sucking anywhere he can find bare skin. And definitely not with Zayn pressing his dick to Niall’s, Zayn kissing him roughly, more biting Niall’s lower lip than actual kissing.

Niall loses himself in it. He forgets to think and just lets his hips move in time with the others’. Lets himself be kissed and bitten and grinded on until it's overwhelming. He lets himself be shifted around until he’s leaning back on Zayn, and facing Harry. He watches, eyes half-lidded as Harry runs a hand down Niall’s torso, and then grips his dick through his tight black jeans. Harry leans in to kiss Niall, his hand still wrapped around Niall's dick. Niall notes that Harry uses way more tongue when he kisses than Zayn does, but is more likely to bite and suck hard at his neck, whereas Zayn is the total opposite. So now he’s got Harry laving his tongue over Niall’s swollen lower lip, and Zayn kissing over the bite marks on his neck and Niall’s head is spinning and he’s over the moon.

“What the fuck?” Niall freezes and crash lands back on earth at the sound of Liam’s voice. “Are you guys all fucking?” He doesn't sound angry, just confused. And trashed, more trashed than Niall is, which is saying something.

“Uh, maybe we should head back to the hotel.” Louis suggests. Somehow he ended up the most sober one, even though it was his idea to go out. Niall untangles himself from Zayn and Harry, and they all follow Liam and Louis out of the bar.

The cool, night air feels amazing on Niall’s overheated skin. It’s about a twenty minute walk back to their hotel, and Niall is thankful the night is so beautiful. They walk in silence for about ten minutes before Liam finally speaks.

“Sorry I asked if you guys were all fucking. I just assumed because of Zayn and Harry, y’know?

Niall frowns. “Wait, what about Zayn and Harry?”

“Well, they’ve hooked up. Ow!” Liam exclaims when Louis punches his arm.

“Only once or twice,” Louis says.

“Three…” Zayn corrects.

“Ok, a few times.” Harry confirms.

“Oh, wow.”

“Listen, we’re sorry we didn’t tell you, we just didn’t think this was gonna end up being a thing.” Harry says. Niall glances over at where Liam and Louis are just standing there, watching them have this discussion. He suddenly feels very awkward about the whole thing, seeing how it’s possible they didn’t even know anything was going on with Niall and Zayn and Harry.

“No, no it’s fine. It’s just a totally different situation than I thought it was. I didn’t realize you guys were hooking up too.”

“We’re not! I mean, we haven’t on this trip. At all.” Zayn says, then reaches out and grabs Niall’s arm and pulls him closer as they continue to walk. “I don’t know why, I guess we’ve just been...preoccupied.”

“I’m not mad, there’s no reason to be defensive. I’m just surprised, it’s ok.” Niall smiles up at Zayn to make sure he knows he means it.

***

They’re out of Chicago by eight the next morning. Louis is driving because he’s the least hungover, having been the least drunk to begin with. Liam is basically unconscious in the passenger seat. Niall is half asleep in-between Zayn and Harry in the back seat. It’s awkward, a bit. Niall would feel more awkward if he was less hungover and more awake, but Zayn is asleep next to him, and Harry has headphones in and his eyes closed, so he very well could be too. So Niall closes his eyes and listens to Louis’ music until he falls asleep as well.

 

“DON’T! STOP! THINKIN’ ABOUT TOMORROW!” All five of them shout along to the music as they enter Pittsburgh around three in the afternoon. They’ve all had their naps and woke up somewhat rowdy and ready to get going again. Louis put Fleetwood Mac on shuffle and that was it. For the last hour of the drive they all shouted and laughed along to the music. Zayn did unnecessary riffing which made Niall cackle until he could barely breathe.

“Alright, bossman, where to?” Louis asks.

“Hotel first, then food!” Niall yells from the backseat. They all cheer and then keep singing.

 

An hour later they’ve checked in to the hotel and made their way to the _Primanti Bro’s_ sandwich shop in Market Square.

“We’re all getting the Pittsburgher, right?” Niall asks as he stares at the menu.

“Cheese steak? Yeah, I’m in,” Louis says. “No salad today, Harold.”

“But-”

“Get the burger!” Liam insists.

“Burger! Burger! Burger!” Niall chants.

“Fine, ok. Just this once. For Niall.”

Niall also ends up sharing an order of the smallman street fries with Louis, which have chili, cheese, sour cream and bacon on them. Harry ends up getting a side salad, which they decide to let slide.

“Alright, I’ll admit,” Harry says as he wipes his mouth with a napkin. “That was fuckin’ incredible.

“Wey hey!” Niall exclaims.

“We’ve corrupted him,” Zayn says with a smile.

After they’ve managed to drag themselves up from the table and out of the restaurant, Niall suggests a walk around downtown.

“I have this self-guided tour I found online. Might be nice to take a walk?”

So they walk up Fifth Avenue until they reach the Ross Street and the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail.

“Designed by Henry H. Richardson,” Niall reads from his phone. “Built in 1888. Known for its Romanesque style that many later buildings tried to emulate.”

They keep walking up Fifth Ave until they hit Grant Street and the Frick Building, and then take a left on Grant and walk up to Fourth Avenue.

“Fourth Ave may be narrow, but it used to be the business hub of Pittsburgh, like their version of Wall Street.”

They continue up Fourth Avenue until they hit Wood Street. Niall talks the whole way, reading out little facts from his phone (“These skyscrapers are a hundred years old!”) They keep walking until they reach the plaza at PPG Place, a giant glass building (“Modeled after the Palace of Westminster in London!”) Then they head under the bridge that separates the two PPG buildings and into Market Square.

Market Square is bustling and alive with people trying to soak up as much of the summer sun as they can.

“This has been the central meeting place of Pittsburgh for over 250 years!” Niall explains excitedly.

They circle out of Market Square onto Liberty Ave, then take a left onto Sixth Ave into the Art District, then up Penn Avenue towards Seventh.

“Are those...eyeballs?” Louis asks.

“It’s Katz Plaza,” Niall reads out from his iPhone. “Or more commonly known as ‘Eyeball Park.’ So I’d say yes, those are eyeballs.”

Zayn wanders off before Niall can say another word, his camera clicking a hundred times a minute, so Niall figures they’re going to take a short break before continuing their walk.

They end up taking an impromptu photoshoot in Katz Plaza. Niall feels silly, as per usual, not only because strangers are staring at them as they do dumb group poses, but because of his faux-serious model expressions. Zayn keeps assuring him that he looks good in the photos, but at this point Niall’s not sure if he’s telling the truth, or if he’s just saying that because he wants to keep having the opportunity to snog him.

Niall sits in one of the eye chairs and watches as Liam poses next to the terraced fountain, his face held in a neutral expression that somehow makes him look handsome and not stupid. Niall doesn’t know how he pulls it off. He watches as Liam and Louis pose together so naturally and easy, you can tell they’ve been with each other for a long time. Niall loves being single, but he does envy that easy and solid camaraderie sometimes. Occasionally he thinks about his future and settling down with someone, and he surprises himself with how easy it is to picture Harry and Zayn being that person for him. Niall is so lost in thought he doesn’t realize Harry has wandered over and is stood next to him, leaning on the eye sculpture until he speaks.

“Zayn is so talented, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he’s amazing,” Niall agrees out of courtesy. He’s seen a lot of Zayn’s other work on Instagram and on his professional website and he is talented, but Niall is feeling bitter over Zayn continuing to refuse to show him any preview pictures.

“He showed me some of the photos he took of you in Charlotte. You look amazing.”

Niall frowns and turns to face Harry. “Wait, he shows you the photos?" He feels himself getting angry so fast he thinks his face must be turning red. "Right, I forgot, you two had a thing already.”

“Niall-what? You, but you said you weren’t mad about that, it’s not even a thing anymore,” Harry stutters out.

Niall takes two deep breaths, tries to get his heart rate under control. He’s not mad, not really. There’s no actual reason to be upset or jealous, Niall rationalizes to himself. It’s just that Niall already feels vaguely self-conscious about how he looks in photos, and Zayn refusing to show him how he looks in any of them is making him nervous, especially since Zayn has worked with actual models before. Niall is irritated that Harry has seen these photos of him, but there’s no point in getting mad at Harry about that.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I’m just- I think I’m tired, maybe still hungover. And I don’t know why he won’t show me any photos he’s taken of me.”

Harry puts a hand on Niall’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Zayn really likes you, you know that right? I’m sure he has a good reason for this. Just get some good sleep tonight and try not to think about it, ok?”

***

_June 14th, 2015 21:54_

_Hello everyone, Niall here. Today we drove from Chicago to Pittsburgh. Somehow we managed, even though four of the five of us were dangerously hungover (I was one of the four, unfortunately.)  It’s nice to only have to drive six or seven hours for the next couple days instead of nine or thirteen hours. When we got into Pittsburgh we headed right for the Primanti Brothers, which from what I gather is like a popular local chain here. We all had the Pittsburgher. It was messy, but so good! After we ate we did a short walking tour around downtown. We saw Market Square and Katz Plaza, where we did a little photoshoot for Zayn (if you’re reading this, Zayn, when do I get to look at your pictures?) amongst the creepy eyeball benches and terraced fountain. We’re off to Washington D.C. tomorrow after lunch, can’t wait! Dying to see the White House, to be honest. Big ups to our president, Mr. Obama. Heard the food scene in D.C. is incredible too._

_Off to bed now!_

_Nialler_

_xx_

 

They leave for D.C. after lunch in Pittsburgh. It’s only a four hour drive, and they arrive to dark storm clouds around 5 pm. By the time they check in to their hotel rooms, and then meet back in the lobby by six for dinner, it’s pouring rain.

“Well, this is shit,” Louis says.

“Shouldn’t we all be used to this? We all grew up in England. And Ireland, sorry,” Liam corrects himself before Niall has a chance to protest.

“Yeah, this is why I left England,” Louis says, eying the downpour disdainfully.

“Well, we’ve got reservations at _Fiola Mare_ in thirty minutes, so I think we better brave this storm.” Niall says as he checks the time on his iPhone.

Liam offers to drive through the storm, and they manage to make it to the restaurant just a couple minutes before their reservation. They’re quickly seated at a table right by the window looking out to the Potomac River. It’s an amazing view, and Niall wishes they’d had good weather so they could appreciate it properly.  

“We doing this raw bar, lads?” Liam asks. They had discussed it on the drive to D.C. after Niall pulled the _Fiola Mare_ menu up on his phone. It cost $140 for a 4-6 person serving of raw and barely cooked seafood. It included oysters from East and West coast, Maine lobster, Middleneck clams, prawns, Black Diamond mussels, Ahi tuna tartare, sea urchin, wakame salad (a seaweed type vegetable), jellyfish salad, trout tartare, and Alaskan King Crab. Louis had been insistent on it, saying that they had to have what he referred to as the ‘full experience.’

“Go big or go home, I guess?” Niall says.

“If we get food poisoning, you are footing all of our hospital bills, Louis,” Zayn adds. He seems the least sold on the idea, being somewhat the least adventurous eater out of the five of them.

They all order cocktails off the fancy menu. Niall goes for his favourite, a _Moscow Mule_ , which is a mix of vodka, lime and ginger beer. Harry gets the _Foreign Policy_ , made of gin, chartreuse, limoncello, honey syrup and lemon juice. Louis and Liam both decide on _Blood and Sand_ , which is scotch, cherry liqueur, vermouth and blood orange juice. Zayn gets an _Old Fashioned_ , bourbon, sugar, bitters, garnished with a fresh cherry and orange slice.

Dinner is weird, but really delicious. Niall is particular to the Ahi tuna tartare and the lobster. Even Zayn ends up enjoying it once he gets used to the textures of barely cooked fish. They decide to get dessert too, and Liam reiterates the “go big or go home” adage. Niall gets the white chocolate cardamom panna cotta (like a baked Italian custard) with passionfruit, olive oil cake and coconut sorbetto and steals bites of Zayn’s ricotta bombaloni (a filled Italian doughnut.)

“Well. Should we keep drinking, then?” Louis asks as they leave the restaurant.

“Suppose so,” Niall shrugs.

They end up at a really swanky rooftop terrace bar called _POV_ that Harry suggests. It’s right by the White House, which has Niall impressed. They all order drinks at the bar and get seated on the terrace with an amazing view of D.C. It’s still a bit cloudy but the rain has cleared right up, making for a warm but humid night. Zayn leans on Niall the entire time they sit and chat at their table. At one point he plays with the soft hair at Niall’s neck, and it’s so distracting Niall loses track of the conversation happening around him. So when Zayn finally stops touching Niall and gets up, announcing he’s gonna go for a smoke, Niall finishes off the rest of his beer in one gulp and follows Zayn away from the table.

Niall doesn’t make a habit of smoking very often, usually only does it when he’s really drunk. He’s only had two drinks and is just feeling the warmth from them in the apple of his cheeks, but Zayn takes two cigarettes out of his pack. He sticks them both between his obscenely wet, pink lips and lights them before handing one off to Niall. So he takes it.

They smoke in silence for a while until Zayn finally speaks.

“Can I admit something to you?” Zayn asks.

“Hit me,” Niall replies.

Zayn pauses for a few seconds. Takes a couple drags of his cigarette.

“I kind of had like a thing for you, like, before the trip,” he finally says.

“A thing?” Niall asks.

“Like...a crush, I guess,” Zayn ends quietly.

“Wait, like for real? But we didn’t even know each other!”

Zayn shrugs. “I saw photos of you on Facebook and whatnot. On Louis’ page. I don’t think Louis even knows. He told me you guys were doing this like, trip and I hinted that I wanted to go, said I felt like getting out of town. Which was true, but. Well, you know.”

Niall didn’t know what to say, and for some reason he could only think of one thing.

“And you’re not bothered by the Harry thing?”

Zayn just grins and shakes his head. “I don’t really get jealous, I guess. Harry’s beautiful, and why wouldn’t you want to sleep with him?” He pauses to take a drag of his cigarette. “I mean, I want to sleep with him too,” Zayn laughs.

“I get it, I think. But I don’t get why you and Harry haven’t still been hooking up. I wouldn’t be mad if you were.”

Zayn shrugs. “I guess we’ve been too focused on you. Not enough time to  fuck with each other.”

“Well, I’ve got to say it’s doing wonders for my ego.” They both put out their cigarettes in the ashtray. “Should we head back to the table?”

**  
**

Harry gets way too drunk that night, so he stumbles back to the hotel with Niall under his arm, holding him upright, essentially. When they make it back to their floor, everyone splits up, saying goodnight, and Niall is stuck with a very drunk Harry who won’t give up his hotel room number, or his room keycard. So Niall decides to just take Harry back to his own room, flop him down on the bed and wrestle off his skin-tight black jeans. Who needs to wear jeans that tight? Luckily Harry has his hair up in a bun and it’s easy to slip off the pile of necklaces he has on. Niall leaves Harry’s black t-shirt on, and strips down himself until he’s only in a tee and boxer briefs himself.

Niall wakes up the morning after to the sun shining through the window into his face. Harry is still sleeping heavily next to him on the bed, and Niall decides to let him keep sleeping. He probably needs it. Niall is pretty sure Harry has been up at the crack of dawn every damn day of this trip, going for a run or going to the hotel gym. He needs a break, Niall figures. He slips out of bed quietly and heads for the shower.

It’s the first time on the trip that Niall wakes up early enough to take a nice, long shower, so he takes advantage of that. He stands under the showerhead for ages, lets the water wash down his body, and feels content and warm. He feels so good, he lets one hand drift down his torso to his dick. It’s barely hard, but a with a steady rhythm of tugging he gets there pretty fast. This is one of the things Niall loves about getting himself off; there’s no one to impress, no one he has to last out for. Just making himself feel good at his own pace. He lets his mind wander, first to this girl he fucked a few months ago. He had gone down on her for ages and he could still picture the noises she let out in his head. But then his mind switches to Zayn. Zayn’s skinny torso over his, grinding his dick down onto Niall’s. Niall lets out a short whine, his hips thrusting helplessly into his own hand.

Niall doesn’t usually make up images in his mind while he jerks off. He’s usually too lazy for that, prefers to get off to things that have actually happened to him before, but suddenly Harry is there. In his mind. With himself and Zayn. They’re both leaning over Niall, and this is brand new to Niall. Somehow he never even thought of the three of them together, even though it makes so much sense. His body reacts immediately to the idea. The water is going cold, but Niall’s body is flushed and heated, his dick twitching as he gets closer. In his head, Zayn has one hand over Niall’s boxer brief-clad erection, just rubbing with light pressure, and is mouthing over one of Niall’s nipples. Harry, on the other side, is kissing Niall, in that tongue-heavy way Niall has gotten used to, while he tweaks at Niall’s other nipple with one hand. It’s overwhelming, to say the least. Niall’s toes begin to curl. Zayn slips his hand under Niall’s boxer briefs and palms at Niall’s bare cock, and that’s all it takes. Niall is coming hard with a low groan all over the shower wall. He lets himself bask in the afterglow briefly before he finishes up his shower and shuts the water off.

When Niall leaves the bathroom wearing only his boxer briefs and jeans, he’s surprised to see Harry still on his bed in his boxers and t-shirt. He had almost forgotten Harry was even in his room.

“Hey mate, how’re you feeling?” Niall asks.

“Kinda dizzy,” Harry croaks. Niall has never heard Harry’s voice this raspy. “Last night, did we uh-” He makes some weird hand gesture then, and Niall quickly figures out what he means.

“Oh, fuck, no. No we did not. You were so drunk, and I couldn’t get you back to your room last night, so I just let you crash here. No funny business at all.”

“Thank God. Not that I don’t want to with you, it’s just I’d like to be able to remember it the next day.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I get it. You gonna be able to get back to your room alright?”

“Just gotta find my pants, haven’t I?”

"Under the chair."

"Cheers."

Niall watches as Harry haphazardly redresses himself.

"See you in a few for breakfast, then?"  

"Text Louis, tell him I'll be ready in fifteen," Harry says with a salute as he leaves Niall's room.

 

The drive to New York is not very long, only about four hours. They leave just after lunch at _The Blue Duck Tavern_ and arrive just after 5 pm. This is the part of the trip Niall is most looking forward to. He has always wanted to see New York City, but he’s never had the chance up until now, and he’s practically giddy with it. Harry managed to pull a few strings and got them swanky rooms at the Waldorf-Astoria, all completely covered by the Styles’. Niall hasn't put much thought into Harry’s financial status. He knows the Styles’ are well off because both of Harry’s parents are in the music industry, as producers or something. But when Niall walks into his room, he can’t help but wonder how much it’s costing Harry to front the bill for four rooms. The room is gorgeous and huge and detailed, complete with an amazing, sprawling view of New York from the red and gold curtained window. Niall flops down on the crisp white sheets of the bed with a happy sigh.

They’re not meeting up in the lobby for another hour, mostly because Liam and Louis wanted a shower, and Harry needed a nap, so Niall pulls out his laptop. He needs to write another blog post, but he decides to check his email first and sees he has one from Zayn from only five minutes ago. There’s a link to a post on his blog on there, and a short paragraph that reads:

_Hey Niall. I know you’ve been wanting to see some of the pictures I’ve been taking on the trip, so here they are. Sorry I kind of hid them from you, I guess I was scared that you’d see them and know I had, like, a crush on you or something. But now that you know, I can finally share them with you._

_I hope you enjoy them._

Niall is weirdly nervous to click the link. Not really sure if he’s ready to see his own face in high quality on someone’s photography blog. He takes a deep breath and clicks the link. The first photo is a black and white of Niall and Harry posed in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then a candid shot of Louis telling a joke and Niall and Liam laughing. Niall can’t even remember what the joke was. The photos kind of tell a story, as Niall scrolls he can see the relationship budding between himself and Harry. From the first somewhat stiffly posed photo in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, to the comfortable and casual way they have their arms around each other in Katz Plaza. They almost look like a proper couple in it, and Niall finds himself wishing Zayn were in the photo with them. Some of them do seem intimate, especially the pictures of him in front of the ocean in Charlotte. There’s four of him from that day, one black and white of him walking up King Street, and three of him on the boardwalk. Zayn must have done some editing to them because they have this dreamy, vintage romantic quality to them. He probably wouldn’t have been able to guess Zayn felt anything beyond wanting to snog. Niall can admit that he’s not always the most perceptive in that regard, but he can see why Zayn was nervous about it. Niall leaves a comment on the post.

_Zayn, these are amazing. Thank you for sharing them._

***

_June 16th, 2015 17:35_

_Hi everyone! Well, we finally made it to New York and I’m absolutely off the wall excited. It’s been a dream of mine to make it out here and I finally did it! Our last stop was D.C. which was incredible. We got to see the White House, and we had an amazing dinner of mostly raw seafood at Fiola Mare’s. Definitely not a meal for someone with a weak stomach. Luckily we all came out of it perfectly fine. Today we had lunch at The Blue Duck Tavern, which apparently is a popular stop for a lot of politicians. Didn’t see anyone I recognized, though I did enjoy their delightful braised beef rib with roasted wild mushrooms on the side. Shortly after lunch we left for New York City, and we arrived just half an hour or so ago to our hotel. Decided to go all out for the Big Apple, so thanks to my generous new friend Harry, we are staying at the iconic Waldorf-Astoria. Very posh. In about half an hour we’re heading out to Momofuku, which of course is owned by one of my favourite contemporary chefs, David Chang. Can’t wait!_

_Much love!_

_Nialler_

_xx_

***

The next day they do more sightseeing than Niall has done in his whole life. They see Central Park, Rockefeller, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and they stop for a lunch of pastrami sandwiches at _Katz’s Delicatessen_. They head back to the hotel around 6 to get ready for their dinner reservation at 7:30. Niall feels hot and sweaty, not only from being outside and walking around for hours, but because Zayn and Harry seem to have entered an unspoken competition to see who could touch Niall more. Throughout the entire day he had one or both of them leaning on him or with an arm around his waist or shoulders. Zayn wiped some damn mustard off Niall’s mouth with his napkin at lunch. Harry slipped his hand into the back pocket of Niall’s jeans in the elevator of the Empire State Building.

Niall really needs a shower.

After a quick shower and over twenty minutes of ironing his clothes, Niall makes it down to the lobby just before 7. Harry and Zayn, surprisingly, are already there. They’re talking and laughing with each other, but stop and focus on Niall as he walks towards them.

“Lads,” Niall greets them as he approaches.

“Niall, we were just talking about you?” Harry says with a big grin. Zayn chuckles. Niall gets a little itch under his skin, like he can tell he’s being left out of something.

“All good things, yeah?”

“The best,” Zayn confirms.

“We just wanted to let you know, we think we know what you’ve been thinking about lately, and that we’re down for it."

Niall chokes a bit, instinctually goes to loosen his light blue tie around his neck. “What idea is it you think I have?”

“How does that phrase go-”

“ _Menage à trois_ ,” Zayn fills in, before he laughs again.

Niall kind of feels like laughing, too. It sounds silly, being said out loud like that, but they’re right. Niall does want a threesome, and he can’t believe they’re offering something he barely even had the words for.

“Yeah, I,” Niall clears his throat. “I do want that.”

“Are we interrupting something?”

Niall startles a bit at Liam’s voice. None of them noticed Louis and Liam approaching as they were having their conversation.

“No, we’re good,” Harry answers with a heated look at Niall. “Should we get a cab?”

**  
**

_Betony_ is a beautiful restaurant right by Central Park with high ceilings, brick walls and a huge glass front. It kind of feels how Niall would expect a restaurant in New York to feel, like it is old and important and sophisticated. Louis orders the bottle of wine in his convincing French accent, the _Yves Martin, Chavignol 2013 Sauvignon Blanc_. Niall gets the poached lobster which is almost the most expensive thing on the menu, but he’s in New York, sitting between Harry, who has a hand on Niall’s knee, and Zayn, who has his leg pressed flush to Niall’s. He’s full of a certain type of frivolous joie de vivre, like he could spend every last damn penny he owns, and it wouldn’t make a difference. He can feel an energy between Zayn, Harry, and himself. He wonders if Louis and Liam can feel it. Liam doesn’t pick up on things as much, but Louis is perceptive. Niall watches as Louis takes a sip of his wine, and laughs at whatever Zayn is saying to him across the table. He’s starting to think maybe he’s imagining the tension when Harry slides his hand down from Niall’s knee onto his thigh, giving it a light squeeze. Niall tries not to be too obvious as he shoots a look Harry’s way. Harry’s not even paying attention, too busy chatting to Liam with a smirk on his face. The bastard. 

***

It’s just after nine-thirty when they leave _Betony_ , stepping out of the air-conditioned restaurant into the heat of a mid-June New York City night. Zayn and Harry are still flanking Niall as they walk together, stomachs full, spirits high, knocking shoulders and elbows.

“Oi, lovebirds!” Louis calls out ahead of them. “Fancy a walk around Central Park?”

Niall makes a spur-of-the-moment decision right then and there. “No thanks, think I’m gonna head back to the hotel, actually.”

“Same,” Harry says with a yawn. Really sells it, too.

“Zayn?” Louis asks.

“Afraid I’m gonna have to go with Niall and Harry. It’s been a long day.”

“Are you serious, lads? It’s our last night in New York!”

“Let ‘em go, Louis. We can have like, a romantic date night by ourselves.” Liam interjects, and bless him, honestly. He always knows what to say to divert Louis’ attention.

Zayn is already hailing a taxi as they say their goodbyes and make plans to meet in the lobby the next morning.

***

Niall is startlingly sober. Somehow he never pictured his first threesome happening like this. He pictured a lot more alcohol, for one. He never thought he’d be feeling this giddy and young, waltzing through the iconic doors of the Waldorf-Astoria and into the ornate lobby feeling completely out of his depth. On his right Harry, who can charm the pants off anything with a pulse, and on his left Zayn, who always looks like he’s just stepped off a runway, and they both want to sleep with him. Niall feels on top of the world.

He tries to act respectable in front of the other hotel patrons, and the elevator security guard, but as soon as the door of their elevator closes, Niall breaks down into helpless laughter.

“This is absolutely nuts. New York is amazing, innit?”

“You’re so cute, Niall.” Zayn’s eyes sparkle, even in the dim light of the elevator.

“He really is,” Harry adds. “Zayn, you should suck his dick.”

Niall’s stomach swoops a bit, heavy with arousal at Harry’s sudden reminder of why they are all there together. Why they had left Liam and Louis at Central Park to do their own thing for their last night in New York.

“Jesus,” Niall murmurs.

“Yeah, I could do that.” Zayn adds, the sparkle in his eye more of a glint now, his easy expression just a few moments earlier was now hyperfocused on Niall.

“You can’t even imagine what those lips feel like on you,” Harry groans slightly for affect. And it works, too. Niall has to close his eyes for a couple seconds, and when he opens them, Harry has moved over to Zayn and is toying his full lower lip with his thumb, the wet glisten of Zayn’s tongue just visible.

“Christ, you guys are gonna end me before we even get to the room.”

Harry is the first one out of the elevator, and Niall feels as though if an outsider were looking at their situation right now, he would look like the leader. And maybe he was, in some way, the biggest instigator. But Zayn, in the middle of three of them, gripping tightly onto Niall’s wrist, leading him down the hallway, the other hand on Harry’s shoulder, was the anchor, really. The one Harry and Niall had been hesitantly orbiting this whole time.

When they get to Harry’s room, Niall is grateful for about the millionth time on this trip that Harry comes from money. The room is huge, with a proportionately large bed off to the right. He spends a few seconds admiring the room, the massive golden drapes and dark red furniture with intricate designs, the smell of vanilla from those damn candles Harry had been dragging along with him. He turns back to the bed, where Zayn and Harry are standing, already pulling off their clothes.

“One of you gonna fuck me tonight?” Niall asks, trying not to sound too hopeful about it. He hasn’t actually been fucked in a really long time, not since the last time he had a long term fuck buddy type thing. Nearly two years ago.

“Yeah, if that’s what you want,” Zayn says. He’s already got his shirt off, his dress trousers unbuttoned. Harry’s already working on pulling his skintight black trousers off.

“I want you to. How are we gonna do this?”

“You’re gonna get naked,” Harry says, pulling his socks off. “And then Zayn is gonna suck your dick.”

Right, Niall had almost forgotten. Niall unbuttons and pushes down the black trousers he has on, stepping out of the pant legs carefully. Next the light blue skinny tie comes off, then he carefully unbuttons his eggplant coloured dress shirt. He may be in a rush to get started, but he doesn’t forget how much money he spent on that shirt, and he doesn’t want any buttons popping off. He drapes the shirt, tie and pants over the back of a chair. Zayn and Harry are standing naked by the bed, their clothes strewn all over the floor.

“Jesus, Niall,” Harry says.

“I spent nearly thirty minutes doing my ironing today before dinner, I don’t wanna ruin my clothes.”

Zayn laughs and takes a few steps towards where Niall is standing in the middle of the room, and takes his hand.

“You’re something else, y’know.” Zayn says before he leans in and kisses him, mouth soft and already familiar. Niall breaks away from the kiss when he feels Harry behind him, lightly pressing against his back, his hands coming to hold Niall’s waist.

“Something good, yeah?”

“Something very good,” Harry answers before placing open mouthed kisses along Niall’s neck, right along the hairline where Niall is most sensitive.

“Can we get your briefs off now?” Zayn asks.

“Yeah, get them off.”

Zayn sinks to his knees and slides his black briefs off for him.

“Oof, look at his dick, s’pretty ain’t it, Zayn?” Harry mumbles right up against Niall’s ear.

“Nice pink tip,” Zayn agrees before kissing the head gently. Niall’s hips jerk slightly, and Harry tightens his grip on them in response.

“Fucking hell, you two.”

“Credit where credit is due, I always say. Knew you’d have a nice dick, anyway. After I felt it in that bar in Chicago, remember?”

Niall is barely even listening to Harry’s words, because Zayn has a firm grip on the base of his dick and is busy sloppily kissing his way up and down each side of the shaft, his lips looking infinitely more obscene than they did on a regular basis.

“Look at how much Zayn loves it, just wait until he gets the whole thing in his mouth, it’s unbelievable.”

Zayn moans, and Niall can feel it where his mouth is wrapped around the side of his dick.

“Harry,” Niall gasps.

“Tell Zayn how it feels, he loves it.”

“Zayn, it feels amazing you’re doing good, so good.”

Zayn leans back a bit, his one hand still gripped around the base of Niall’s dick, the other he uses to brush away some of the excess spit from his mouth. When Zayn leans back in he takes the whole head of Niall’s dick in his mouth and doesn’t stop pushing forward until Niall can feel Zayn’s throat constricting around the tip.

Zayn pulls back suddenly, coughs a few times and wipes away the spit again.

“I can do this, just give me a second,” Zayn’s voice is already raspy. He swallows a couple times before leaning back in, and just before he takes Niall’s dick back in his mouth, he pauses. “You can fuck my mouth, y’know.”

Niall’s hips want to jerk again, but Harry’s grip keeps them still. Zayn lets Niall’s dick sink past his lips again, slowly inching in until he’s breaching Zayn’s throat. This time Harry releases his grip on Niall’s hips, lets him thrust forward minutely until Zayn’s eyes are watering and he’s groaning, but his hands stay where they are, gripping at his own thighs.

Niall lets himself breathe a couple times before he pulls back carefully and thrusts forward, slowly repeating until he’s built up a rhythm. Zayn just takes it all.

“Look how good he’s being, fuck.”

Niall can only whine in response.

“You said you wanted to get fucked, yeah?”

Niall nods enthusiastically. He feels Harry palming one of his ass cheeks, then a single finger poking around at his rim. His hips jerk forward a bit, but Zayn handles it expertly, somehow, swallowing down and continuing to let Niall fuck his mouth. Harry spits onto his fingers and begins to crudely and shallowly finger Niall, not pushing in but just teasing and touching the rim. Niall’s rhythm is long gone, and he’s only managing jerky thrusts.

“Zayn, I’m-I’m gonna,” is all Niall manages to get out before he’s coming hard all over Zayn’s tongue, his spine curling in on itself, with a weird guttural sound. He doesn’t even notice that Harry has removed his fingers from Niall’s arse, and is instead on his knees, until Niall feels Harry’s face pressed up against his outer thigh.

“Don’t you dare swallow that, Zayn. Don’t be greedy.”

Niall watches in a post-orgasm haze as Harry pulls Zayn’s face towards his, licks up the side of his mouth where some of Niall’s come didn’t quite make it into Zayn’s mouth. Then, their tongues meet before their lips even touch, Zayn pushing Niall’s come into Harry’s mouth, which Harry accepts readily. Harry wipes away a trail of spit and come from Zayn’s cheek and Niall’s dick is still softening from the orgasm he just had, but he feels oversensitive and painfully turned on watching Zayn and Harry share his come.

“Jesus, one of you needs to fuck me. Please.” Niall knows he probably sounds like an idiot, his voice still shaky, but he doesn’t think he can watch them snog for much longer before he falls into pieces.

When Harry pulls away both of their lips are red and shiny from spit and Niall’s fucking jizz. Niall’s dick makes a valiant effort to show interest again.

“Eager, isn’t he Zayn?” Harry says without breaking his eye contact with Niall.

“I guess one of us should fuck him, then.”

“Does anyone have a coin?” Harry asks, finally looking away from Niall. “Should we do a coin toss?”

Niall snorts and is about to make a derisive comment, but Zayn beats him to it.

“A coin toss? We’re not going to use a coin to decide who gets to fuck him.”

“Well have you got a better idea?”

Niall really can not believe his life as he watches Harry scrambling around on the floor, searching pants pockets for a coin that will ultimately decide who gets to fuck him. Harry and Zayn have made his life so strange.

Harry finally finds a quarter and holds it above his head triumphantly.

“Okay Zayn, you call it.”

Harry tosses the coin in the air and Zayn calls out ‘tails’ just as the coin hits Harry’s hand.

“Tails,” Harry confirms, a bit sadly.

“Wait! I have um, like a suggestion I guess,” Zayn says. “Why don’t we take turns, like? I can go first, and then you can have a go too?”

“Are you okay with that, Niall?” Harry asks.

“Two is always better than one, I think. Has anyone brought condoms, though? Or lube?”

“Hold on.” Harry strides over to his suitcase in the corner while Zayn leads Niall over to the bed, manhandles him gently until he’s in the middle of the bed, a pillow under his lower back to prop up his arse, and legs spread. Zayn doesn’t even wait for Harry to return with the lube before he’s teasing Niall’s ass, slowly touching his hole without really committing to it.

“Zayn, c’mon,” Niall pleads.

“Be patient, we gotta wait for the lube.”

Harry shows up seconds later with two condoms and a packet of lube. He hands them off to Zayn before joining Niall on the bed, sprawling himself out next to him. Niall watches as Zayn warms the lube up on his fingers before lowering his hand and pressing one finger in slowly.

While Zayn carefully works his finger in and out of Niall, Harry decides to toy with Niall’s closest nipple, pinching and rubbing at it until it’s red and raw and swollen before moving onto the next one.

“Harry, what the fuck,” Niall is writhing now, half-heartedly shoving at Harry, trying to get him away from his poor nipples.

“Sorry, it can’t be helped,” is all Harry says in reply. Zayn chooses this moment to press in another finger. Niall’s back goes ramrod straight as he tries to open up and bear down on Zayn’s fingers. Zayn scissors his fingers a few times while Harry presses open mouthed kisses along Niall’s neck and chest.

“C’mon, another finger. I can take it. Please?” Niall is vaguely embarrassed by how needy he sounds, but really, once you have someone’s fingers up your ass, there’s no point in embarrassment.

Zayn slips in a third finger, continuing his slow motion of pushing in and pulling out.

“Yes,” Niall says with a sigh. “Just like that, yes. You should fuck me now.”

Zayn obviously doesn’t need to be told twice. He pulls his fingers out quickly before grabbing a condom, ripping the packet open with his teeth, and sliding it down his dick. He drizzles some more lube onto his dick, jacks himself a couple times then lines himself up.

The first push is the hardest part, Niall tries to remind himself. It’s been two years and the ache of being pushed open and into is no less painful than he remembers. He focuses on his breathing, on Harry who is sucking what will probably be a ridiculous love bite onto Niall’s neck. Mouthy bastard.

“Are you okay?” Zayn asks, once he’s all the way in, his bony hips snug tight to Niall’s ass.

“I’m fine, it’s been a while. Just let me breathe for a minute.” Niall curls his fist into Harry’s hair. “Are you a vampire? Jesus Christ. The last one you left was just starting to fade.”

Harry removes himself from Niall’s neck and shrugs. “You taste good, what am I supposed to do?”

“I wanna suck your dick. Zayn, you can fuck me now.”

Harry salutes and scrambles up so he’s on his knees, his dick hitting Niall on the lips as he tries to get situated. Zayn has a tight grip on Niall’s hips as he begins to thrust, pulling out slowly, then pushing back in faster. Niall is at a bad angle to give a proper blow job, mostly he sucks at the head and tongues the slit, working the rest of the shaft and balls with his hands. It doesn’t help that Niall’s entire body jerks with every sharp thrust Zayn makes. Zayn's rhythm rapidly grows erratic, yet he still manages to hit Niall's prostate with impressive accuracy.

"Niall...can I," Zayn gasps out. "Can I come on you?"

"Yes! Do it." Niall's lips still brush up against Harry's dick as he talks.

Zayn pulls out with a pained expression on his face and shucks off the condom, throws it to the side without even looking where it lands. He's about to grab his dick but Harry smacks his hand away, gets a nice grip and starts pulling Zayn off. Harry's dick is nearly hitting Niall in the face from his awkward leaning position, but Niall can still appreciate how great Zayn looks when he's about to come. His eyes are squeezed shut, his mouth slack, and he's panting. Then, with a few guttural noises, Zayn comes all over Niall's chest. Harry wanks him through it, keeps a steady motion until Zayn has to swat his hand away.

"Good show, Zayn. My turn, now!" Harry says gleefully. "I have a couple ideas."

Apparently Harry's idea involves not washing Zayn's come off Niall's chest (which would have been preferable) but instead getting Zayn to lie down, and for Niall to lean over him, ass in the air for Harry to grab and guide onto his dick. There’s a few positives to the position, of course. Like how he gets to stare at Zayn’s beautiful, blissed out face the whole time, even gets to lean down and kiss him a few times. Although more often than not, he misses Zayn’s lips because Harry is pounding into him from behind quite hard, making it difficult to aim.

Harry is talkative, Niall finds out quickly. The entire time he’s thrusting, he’s also keeping a running commentary of how good Niall feels around him, how well he’s taking it, how hot he looks and so on until finally he chokes out

“Niall, gonna-gonna come.”

He pulls out just like Zayn did and pushes on Niall’s hip until he rolls over and lands in the crook of Zayn’s arm. It only takes Harry a couple seconds of jerking off before he's coming with a series of high pitched whines, jizz splattering all up Niall's torso where he's already sticky from Zayn's jizz.

"Niall, you're like, proper hard again." Zayn points out.

Niall looks down at where his own dick is lying, hard and leaking from the tip onto the V line of his hipbone. He hadn't even noticed.

"Could someone get me off then, please?"

Harry is closest, so he grabs Niall's dick and jerks him off in earnest, wasting no time in establishing a good rhythm, his thumb occasionally swiping over the head. Niall has one hand fisted in the duvet while Zayn strokes at Niall's head softly, which is a weird contrast to the way Harry is jerking him off.

Niall is too tired, his body too exhausted to try to hold off on his orgasm, so he lets go, let's his stomach tighten, his hips to stutter upwards as he spurts come all over his own stomach with a groan. Niall is still breathing heavily after he comes.

"Shit. I don't think I can move."

"You're a filthy boy, I think you need to get up and shower." Harry says.

"Ugh, just give me a few more minutes."

Niall lays sprawled on the bed for at least five more minutes until Zayn and Harry manage to get him standing upright. As soon as Niall gets in the shower he knows it was the best decision. The hot water feels amazing on his tired muscles, and even though having all that come on him was hot for about a minute, afterwards it was just gross and kind of uncomfortable. He steals a bit of the expensive looking organic body wash Harry has in there, but leaves his hair unwashed.

He dries off, then hesitates at the bathroom door, suddenly remembering that he didn’t bring any clothes into the bathroom, and that it might be awkward to waltz out there naked, find his clothes, re-dress, then have to walk back to his own room. He wraps the towel around his waist, takes a deep breath, and opens the door.

Zayn and Harry are still lounging on the bed, talking and laughing with each other. They stop as the door opens, both turning their attention back to Niall.

“We were just talking about you,” Zayn admits.

“Ditch the towel, get back in bed,” Harry says as he scoots over to one side, leaving space for Niall in the middle.

Niall shrugs. Problem solved. He drops the towel, and Zayn whistles. Niall winks, turns around and shakes his butt at them a bit, to even more whistling from both of them, before he struts over to the bed and flops on it. He does love a good post-sex cuddle.

He ends up being the middle spoon, of sorts. Even though Harry is the largest, he scoots down so his back is to Niall, and Niall can place his arm around Harry’s stomach. Then Zayn curls up against Niall’s back, his hand warm on Niall’s thigh. Niall is glad the room has good A/C, because he feels like he’d be sweating to death without it. Harry leans forward and flicks off the bedside lamp. In the darkness, Niall quickly fades off to the sound of Zayn and Harry’s easy breathing.

***

Niall wakes up the next morning when Harry is trying to sneak back into his own room. He’s wearing a vest and gym shorts, his long hair pushed back by a sweatband. Niall slowly realizes he’s spread out, taking up more than his fair share of the bed, and Zayn is curled up to his side, his face tucked into Niall’s neck. Niall tries to ask where Harry has been, but it mostly comes out as mumbling.

“Shh,” Harry shushes him. “Go back to sleep. It’s early.”

Niall is back asleep in seconds.

When he wakes up again, the sun is shining in through the huge window, Zayn and Harry are tucked up against either side of him, and he’s really thirsty. He leans up slightly until he can see the alarm clock, its bright red numbers signifying that it’s about half past ten in the morning. Their flight isn’t until after three in the afternoon, but he hasn’t packed yet, or had a bagel in New York yet, and he can’t go home until he’s at least had a bagel.

He slides out from between Zayn and Harry, praying that he won’t wake them up. Harry snuffles a bit, but Zayn hasn’t so much as stirred at all. Niall redresses in his trousers and shirt but leaves his tie hanging over the chair. He ignores the texts Louis has sent him and quickly checks Google Maps on his phone for the closest bagel place, sees that _Ess-a-Bagel_ is only a couple blocks from the hotel. He swipes the keycard on the bedside table and leaves as quietly as possible.

Stepping out the front doors of the Waldorf and onto bustling Park Ave, Niall feels more alive and light than he has for months. Maybe it’s the the New York vibe, or maybe its because he just had amazing sex last night, with two really hot guys that he really likes as people, and would actually love to keep in touch with them once he gets back to Los Angeles.

_Ess-a-Bagel_ is quite busy when he gets there, but it only takes about fifteen minutes for him to get his order, 9-grain with vegetable cream cheese for Harry, everything bagel with jalapeño cream cheese for Zayn, everything with herb cream cheese for himself, and three orange juices.

He spots Louis and Liam in the lobby of the hotel, and tries to avoid them but it’s too late, Louis has spotted him and is making a big commotion that he won’t stop until Niall goes over there.

“Hey there, lads. Had a good night then?”

Louis jabs him in the arm. “We should be asking you that question, Niall. You’re the one who snuck away with Zayn and Harry and then ignored all my text messages.”

“Right, sorry about that. We were a bit um, preoccupied, I suppose.”

Louis glares at him. “What exactly were you preoccupied with, little Niall?”

“You all shagged, didn’t you?” Liam asks bluntly.

“Well,” Niall grins. “These three bagels aren’t all for me, thats all I can say right now.” Liam and Louis are next in line, so Niall starts to slowly back away. “We’ll see you lads later, right? In the lobby at one, yeah?”

“Alright, Horan, you win this time. But I’ll find out details eventually. Zayn tells me everything, you know!”

Niall just laughs and turns around, heads for the elevator.

**  
**

Harry startles when Niall enters his room. Harry is standing at his suitcase, wearing underwear now, and re-packing. Zayn is still sleeping heavily on the bed.

“Jesus,” Harry breathes, a hand to his chest. “I thought maybe we scared you off or something.”

“Nah, just thought we could use some breakfast.” Niall holds up the takeout bag of bagels.

“This is probably the best post-threesome situation ever.”

“I know, right? We got this shit on lock.”

Niall strips back down to his underwear and climbs back onto the bed. He tries nudging Zayn awake but he barely even stirs. In the end it takes nearly five minutes with Harry and Niall both trying to wake Zayn up before he eventually responds.

“Alright, fuck off. I’m up, I’m up.”

“Niall brought breakfast.”

That perks Zayn up a bit more. They end up sitting all cross-legged on the bed, eating their bagels and drinking their orange juice just chatting, like they just had a sleepover the night before and not a threesome.

They finally part ways around eleven thirty. Niall still needs to re-pack and needs another shower to fix his weirdly flattened hair.

When Niall gets down to the lobby just before one, Harry is already there. They chat for a few minutes until Liam and Louis show up. Zayn is about ten minutes late, but Niall is used to it by this point. Niall can tell Liam must have spoken to Louis about waiting until they were in private before he started interrogating Zayn, which Niall is infinitely grateful for. He doesn’t really know how Zayn is feeling, but he’s not really sure he wants to put a label on things yet. Hopefully they’ll stay friends. Will they hook up again or will things progress further with either of them or both of them? Those aren’t questions Niall feels like thinking about right now.

They all doze off on the way to the airport, even Zayn, who got over nine hours of sleep the night before.

Going through airport security is one of Niall’s least favourite things in the world. Having someone check through all his belongings, taking off his shoes, his belt, the bracelet he has with his hometown’s coordinates on it. The worst is holding up the line while someone swabs his MacBook Air.

The best bit of an airport for Niall, is when he reaches the secure area and gets to lounge and people watch a bit. The four of them take over a large table in a restaurant where they can order a couple drinks while they wait for their flight. Niall ends up being bracketed by Zayn and Harry, which he’s gotten fairly used to, but Harry’s hand on his thigh and Zayn leaning heavily into him is something fairly new.

Niall knows Louis is watching them with narrowed eyes, just dying to say something, but he refrains again, and Niall is endlessly thankful.

They only have time for a couple pints before the boarding for their flight to L.A. is being announced. Niall doesn’t exactly hate flying, but he’s not too keen on it either. He’d much rather be on the ground, but flying is a necessary evil and he gets on with it. Niall is secretly thrilled when he finds out he’s sitting next to Zayn on the flight because Zayn has a calm and reassuring presence. Zayn lets Niall flip up the armrest and cuddle up into him during take off. With the steady rhythm of Zayn’s breathing, and Lady Antebellum’s newest album playing through Niall’s headphones, he’s asleep before they reach cruising altitude.

At some point during the flight, Zayn managed to fall back asleep too, curled over where Niall was leaning on him, so when Niall startles awake as the plane begins to descend, Zayn is forced awake too.

“Sorry,” Niall mumbles as he pulls his earphones out. “Don’t really care for the landing bit.”

“Me neither,” Zayn admits. “You can hold my hand, if it helps.”

“You’re beautiful, Zayn. Thank you.”

The landing happens pretty smoothly, but Niall clutches onto Zayn’s hand and breathes deep the whole time, until they’re landed safely on the tarmac and rolling slowly up to their gate.

“Jesus, can’t believe it’s already all over. Feels like just yesterday we were leaving L.A. and now we’re back.”

“Lots has changed though, yeah? New experiences, new friends and all that.”

Niall glances over to Zayn, who looks just as shockingly beautiful as the day he first met him, even though he’s just been on a six and a half hour flight.

“Of course, it’s been great. I’m not sad to be back in L.A. I still love it here, it just feels--refreshed now. Getting away was nice for a bit.”

“Alright, give us a kiss, then, let’s stop being soppy,” Zayn says, already leaning in with his lips pursed.

Niall laughs but leans in anyways, presses his lips to Zayn’s lightly.

“Oi! Am I missing out on smooching back here?” Harry has somehow managed to get on his knees on his seat and is leaning over the back rest.

“Just mild smooching. You want in?”

“Silly question, Niall.” Harry leans forward with his eyes closed and his lips pursed exaggeratedly. Niall meets him half way with his lips out and they share a quick kiss before Niall pulls back and lets Zayn swoop in for his turn with Harry.

“Alright you three,” Louis’ voice comes loud and clear even though he’s facing the other way. “People are moving off the plane, get your shit together.”

It’s just past eight in the evening in L.A. and the airport is still stupidly busy. Niall suddenly just wants to be home already.

“So, Liam’s friend is coming to pick us up, but unfortunately, I’m not sure if there’s room for all five of us in his car.” Louis explains.

“It’s alright, I’ve got a car coming. It can fit us three,” Harry says.

“Great, then we’ll see you lads later, yeah? We should do drinks soon.” Liam says. They all exchange quick hugs with Liam and Louis before waving them off.

“So you’re sure you’ve got room for us, Harry?”

“Yeah! Wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t. Come on, then.”

Harry leads them out to a black SUV like  the one he had rented for their road trip, and although he seems chummy with the driver, Al, he squeezes into the backseat with Niall in the middle. Niall has his head on Zayn’s shoulder, Harry’s hands tangled with his in his lap as they head home.

***

_June 18th 2015, 23:15_

_I’m finally back in L.A.! I’d like to once again thank all the people who left comments and suggestions that helped me to plan this trip. I also want to thank my two friends who came along, Louis and Liam, and the two new friends I made, Harry and Zayn. It was a whirlwind, and in some ways I wish it wasn’t over, but it also feels good to be back in L.A. Maybe L.A. will never feel as much like home as Ireland does, but it’s sturdy.I'll be writing a post soon with more in-depth reviews and descriptions of our meals, especially towards the end there when I was updating less and less. It's hard to blog and travel!_

_This is slightly embarrassing because I know they’ll read this and take the piss later, but in the end I’m very glad Zayn and Harry ended up coming on this trip. They changed the vibe and they changed me in ways I wasn’t expecting. Without giving too much away, I’m really excited to find out what the future holds for the three of us and our tentative relationship, or friendship. Whatever it ends up being, I’m glad it’s with the two of you._

_Much Love_

_Nialler_

_xx_  

**Author's Note:**

> All of the places in this fic are real, and you should totally check all of them out if you have the chance! Thank you so much for reading. Drop me a line in the comments, or at my [tumblr](http://bisousniall.tumblr.com/). Thank you to the mods for organizing this challenge for a third year. Can't wait for the next one!


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